Always Emotion is the Future
by Foulds
Summary: Obi Wan decided to hide the truth from Luke. But what if Luke and Leia had made a terrible mistake on Hoth in their ignorance? What if Leia was pregnant with Luke's child? Chapter 23; as Obi-Wan learns the truth, Luke falls back in the Emperor's hands...
1. Emotions

_Disclaimer; I don't own Star Wars._

_Author's Note; **this entire story has been edited to match the events of Episode III. It therefore now contains several Episode III spoilers.**

* * *

_

_Damn his rugged good looks…_

Leia strolled back and forth, disjointed thoughts running through her head, jumping at every sound, eyes flicking from the uneven stone floor to the smooth ice walls, putting great effort into both feigning a lack of fear and stopping herself from crying.

Why does he have to so stubborn? Running off like that. God, I hope that they're both alright…

Leia gave up the pretence of calmness as her head jerked up, desperately hoping for good news from the young captain. She noticed that she had been rubbing her hands together without realising. His superior glared at him and he lowered his voice. Leia sighed with a quiet sob that she refused to let anyone hear. Her emotions were clearly quite obvious to everyone.

The captain approached her and spoke reluctantly, "Your highness, there's nothing more we can do tonight. The shield doors must be closed."

Leia couldn't answer. She nodded forlornly as she kept her head firmly down. One of the captains ran off. She looked out as the doors began to slide shut with a juddering rumble. As she stared out at the cold dead wasteland, her world was silent. C3PO was saying something, but she couldn't hear it. Droids couldn't feel. They couldn't understand her pain. She walked away quickly, not looking back. She had to be alone right now.

* * *

Luke struggled onwards through the blur of snow in the biting cold. His face stung as it was assaulted with hail. He swayed and lurched in a random direction towards an unknown destination, walking because there was nothing else to do except die. 

Luke staggered forwards a few more steps, faintly aware that he was probably walking in circles, before collapsing. He tried to rise, but his legs were cold and numb, and they refused to obey. The world spun in a swirl of white and shadow as Luke saw nothing but the ground, heard nothing but the wind, felt nothing but the cold. He closed his eyes and there was darkness.

"Luke…"

For luck…

Leia

For luck…

"Luke…"

The image of her face. The first time he saw her…

Who is she? She's beautiful…

Then the chasm…

For luck…

That single kiss…

"Luke…"

He opened his eyes as fraction as the hail assaulted his face again, that voice, "Ben?"

* * *

Leia lay in her personal chambers, wrapped up in several covers, staring at the icy ceiling. Both of them. They both had to come back. But who had she cried for? Who did she care for? 

The first time she saw him…

I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you…

The youth and innocence of his face. His integrity and good intentions were beyond doubt. That very first time he came though the door into her cell, she felt a… connection between them. The strangest feeling that they had a strong bond… an unspoken rapport. He was brave too, and a fine pilot, leading the attack on the Death Star and not just showing up late… like some people.

Not that she didn't care for Han. He was irritatingly handsome. But there was just wasn't the same connection as she felt with Luke. She had never felt any bond with anyone as strong as that elusive pervading feeling that she always sensed in his presence.

If only I'd…

It didn't matter now. Luke surely couldn't have survived. She'd always put it off. She'd do it tomorrow, she'd said to herself, then tomorrow there'd been a mission to plan or a signal to investigate or a new shipment of bacta canisters to distribute to station outposts.

If only I had another chance…

* * *

Leia's emotions were a mess. Luke was alive, and so was Han. Luke was recovering too, and she was finally allowed to see him. As she gazed at Luke from the other side of the medical bay, that strange familiar comforting feeling from his presence filling her body, she became aware of Han making another tactless advance.

As his arm slid around her shoulder with a smug grin, Luke shot a worried glance at the pair as Leia launched into a full tirade of abuse, "Why you stuck up!"

Stubborn, presumptuous, cocky…

"Half witted!"

How did he know that I don't find him wholly unattractive…

"Scruffy looking!"

Stupid good looking…

"Nerf herder!"

"Who's scruffy looking? I must have hit pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh, kid?"

This is the perfect opportunity. Do it. Do it, do it, do it. If anyone asks, it's just to show up Han.

Leia strolled forwards with confidence, a mixture of anger and fear making her bold in her actions, but terrified inside, "Well I guess you don't know everything about women yet." She said with obvious bitterness. Without any further delay, she shot forwards, grabbed Luke's neck and pulled him towards her hard, kissing him deeply before he had to chance to pull away. Leia savoured the moment, timidly wondering if Luke was too.

She pulled away at length, suddenly terrified, and practically ran out of the medical bay, immensely relieved that a call for command staff had echoed through the base's frozen corridors.

* * *

Luke paced up and down the east passage, waiting to meet with Leia outside her chambers, as she had asked him to. It was already late. Most people had retired by now. His mind was hardly clear. The jubilation of a second kiss from Leia, just as perfect as the first, combined with the fear and horror of the Empire's advance. Luke closed his eyes for a second. Leia was behind him, at the far end of the corridor. 

Why hasn't she said anything already?

Luke smiled. His connection to the force was hardly great, but he could still feel it, and he could always sense it radiating from her. It was warm and soothing. It was almost as if the force drew him to her. It was like Anakin's legacy with the force tied them together somehow. Luke frowned as an image appeared in his mind for a second.

Why did I just see myself floating almost naked in a tube?

"Luke."

"Leia, what is it?"

"Today. It made me realise just how dangerous all this is. How close to death we all are."

"Leia-"

"Here we are on a dangerous planet, about to evacuate our entire force past the Imperial Fleet, constantly hounded by the Empire. I'm scared. I don't know how you do it all, fighting on the frontlines without fear. I envy you for that. You're… remarkable. I always fear that I might fail, or someone could be killed, or that the Empire could hunt us down. I don't want to be alone right now. I just want…"

Leia stepped forwards and grabbed Luke again, kissing him passionately, finding solace in his embrace, an escape from all her responsibilities and fears in his lips. Luke stood there awestruck. Leia, kissing him again, took his hand and led him forwards, and he followed without resisting. She breathed deeply and looked him in the eye, all her emotions and feelings that she had been hiding exposed for Luke to see and crush,

"Could you ever… love me?"

"I've always loved you."

Her hand trembling, Leia tapped a button and the door to her quarters slid open with a gentle hiss. Still holding Luke's wrist tightly, she led him into the darkened room, and the door snapped shut behind them.


	2. A Great Disturbance

Hey y'all, thanks to Darkmoon90, Nemesis' Arrow, DMS and IloveHan for reviewing the first chapter! It was great to get some positive (if morally outraged) feedback. Thanks especially to Nemesis' Arrow for keeping an open mind about the fic despite the controversial pairing!

How many people thought Luke/Leia would be a pairing after seeing the first film without the others? Exactly.

Anyway, don't worry, I'm not completely sick. There will be NO sex scenes in the fic. The PG-13 rating is there for a reason. Please read and review, even if it is just to lodge your accusation of perversion. All the best, Jon Foulds.

The thick shield of black clouds held back almost all light from the planet's surface. Scarcely illuminated by the grudging dimness, ancient plants spread out into the black mist. Their gnarled and twisted grey branches, decaying and rotting, almost seemed to hang mournfully over the black swamp. An unseen creature's grating screech echoed through the dingy world, sounding like death throes. Silent ripples gave away the lurking predators in the dark liquid; a seemingly dead planet, covered by life that thrived on decay.

In a tiny primitive hut, a short green creature sat still before the fire, eyes closed in meditation, trying to see through the thick shroud of the dark side. Without warning, Yoda cried out in pain, falling forwards, his hands clasping his withered skin and wrinkled brow. As he lay on the floor, a pathetic whimpering escaped his lips. His eyes flew open as he tore himself from his trance and fell backwards again, staring at the ceiling, the burning feelings fresh in his mind.

A calm and aged male voice came from an unseen source, "Yoda, what is it?"

"A great disturbance in the force there has been."

"What was it?"

"The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to tell the cause is."

"Luke! Is he alright?"

"Yes. Death this was not."

"What did you see?"

"A great power, twisted and corrupt."

"What has the Emperor done now?"

"Know I do not. Meditate on this I will."

* * *

The room was almost completely dark, leaving only the faintest outline of an imposing andbarely human figure. As a huge projection of a hideously deformed head with cracked teeth and yellow eyes flickered into view, a hoarse and rasping voice called out with chilling menace, "Lord Vader." 

"Yes, my master."

"There has been a great disturbance in the force."

"I have felt it also, my master."

"All that I have foreseen is fading away. The future is twisting and warping."

"What has happened, my master?"

"We have a new enemy. An entity of immensepower has entered the Galaxy. I have no doubt that this is the working of the Jedi. Only Master Yoda could possibly possess the power to make such a grave disturbance."

"What would you have me do, my master?"

"Continue the attack against the rebel's base on Hoth. Capture the rebel who destroyed the Death Star. I have no doubt that this boy is the son of Anakin Skywalker. He also has a role in this. Bring him to me."

"He is just a boy. Obi-Wan can no longer help him."

"The future is uncertain, Lord Vader. Until I am confident of our victory, we will take no chances."

"Yes, my master."

* * *

Luke slowly put on his boots and breathed deeply. Suddenly, there was too much to take in. 

Leia and me, together. It's what I've always wanted. It should be perfect…

But it wasn't perfect. Luke remembered lying in the frozen wastes, waiting for death to claim him and end his suffering. Just before Han had arrived, the stoically silent and stern faced image of Ben.

You will go to the Dagobah system. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi master who instructed me.

Luke shook his head. Had he really seen anything? Had it just been another hallucination? Had he really heard Ben's voice again. Suddenly seized by frustration, he threw down his gloves to the floor and let his head sink into his hands, "I must be going crazy"

Luke thought about his words. You will go the Dagobah system. You will learn from Yoda. Ben hadn't exactly given him a choice in the matter.

So a non-corporeal Jedi who died facing Vader wants me to be trained so that I can risk suffering the same fate. And he doesn't think I deserve a say in the matter! It's not that easy! I have commitments!

"It isn't fair!" Luke suddenly shouted, his thoughts escaping into the world. He sighed again, trying to calm himself down. What he had once said to Obi-Wan was still true. He did want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi, like his father had long ago.

And yet it was a young farm boy who had said that. A boy who could become a Jedi because he had no other commitments in the world, after the Empire had… Now he was a leading pilot in the Rebel Alliance. They needed him, and he was respected and held in high esteem here.

It's all Obi-Wan's fault! I followed him so that he could train me! It's his own fault if he abandoned me! I've got a new life now! What right does he have to tell me what to do anymore?

And most of all, Luke had Leia. Why should he renounce all his happiness now? Luke sighed again, staring at the wall opposite him. He couldn't hide the truth from himself. Last night, he had felt something. As he had slept, a strong feeling had washed over him for just a second, so pungently that he could almost taste it. It had been dark and perverse, alien and indescribable. He had leapt up, suddenly wide awake, and looked around. Leia had been sleeping beside him peacefully. The force that normally emanated from her beautiful body had been different somehow. He didn't understand.

Luke finished putting on his pilot's attire and walked towards the door. He still had no idea where he would go when his X-wing had passed through the energy field. Yesterday, he knew he was going to Dagobah. But now… he just didn't know.

He walked out through the door and almost walked straight into Leia. They stared at each other and then looked around, a slight awkwardness existing between them. Luke began several sentences before saying, "I have to… Rogue Group will be departing soon."

Leia grasped his neck firmly despite their presence in public and kissed him deeply again, "Please be careful."

She walked off quickly towards the command centre, and Luke looked after her, again feeling that strangely different sensation from the force. He still didn't know.

Life changing decisions later. Now I have focus on the task at hand.

Luke ran through to the hangar, and slapped his gunner on the back as men ran in all directions through the crowded area, leaping into his Speeder. He glanced at the Falcon, but couldn't face Han right now. Luke knew well enough how he felt. As Luke sat down and strapped himself in, Dack called out to him, "Feeling alright, sir?"

"Just a few things on my mind."

"Right now I feel like I could take on the whole Empire by myself."

* * *

Vader sat in isolation in his Star Destroyer, deep in meditation, trying to search out the cause of the disturbance in the force that his master had felt. There were so few force sensitive beings left now that even the slightest ripple in the force could be sensed across the Galaxy. But this was such a shift in power that one could have sensed it in the days of the Old Republic. 

And, Vader was now sure, it was coming from this system. Either Yoda was here, or this had something to do with his son. Whatever it was, his master was quite certain that it had potentially jeopardised their plans, and so Vader had to find it. Vader had been in the presence of Yoda, Obi-Wan, Mace Windu, and many other great Jedi Masters, yet he had never felt anything quite like this…

* * *

Luke's speeder juddered violently as another shot glanced it, "Rogue 3." 

"Copy, Rouge Leader."

"Wedge, I've lost my gunner, you…"

Luke paused as his Speeder soared onwards, suddenly unaware of the barrage of heavy fire that assaulted his Speeder's shields…

That feeling… Leia… That power… She's… She's pregnant

Luke flung his Speeder around and soared back towards the hangar, turning off his radio and ignoring the calls of his fellow pilots. Leia could get away in any transport. She had to know. He had to tell her. He didn't know why or what good it would do, but he knew he had to.

Luke focussed his mind as he tried to find her presence with the force. She was still in the base. As his speeder flew through the wide doors, the Falcon raced out past him, as did the feeling of Leia's presence.

She left with Han? Why wouldn't she leave with her transport? Why would she want to leave with him?

Luke's jealous pondering was interrupted as a rapid stream of blaster fire struck his shields. He turned the Speeder around. The conflict in his mind was over. He couldn't go to Dagobah. He had to follow Leia. He had to protect her. He had to protect his child.


	3. Pursuit

Ah, welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future. Just to clear it up, I am NOT deaf. I know that the line is actually 'Always in motion is the future'. This is not a mistake on my part, but an alternative hearing, if you like. Fully intentional, anyway.

Good to see readers gathering! Welcome to rjcod and Tempest in Blue, and thanks to Nemesis' Arrow for sticking around! I've got a lot of ideas for where this fic is going, so it should be fairly long!

All the best, and please review, Jon Foulds

Vader stood at the bridge of the Executor. Today had been, all things considered, a disaster. The Walkers had done a small amount of damage to the Speeders, but nothing significant and the pitiful rebel band had slipped past the blockade with the aid of an ion cannon. It was all the fault of Admiral Ozell's incompetent manoeuvring, which had allowed the rebels to erect an energy shield.

At least he will never make such a mistake again.

Vader had a new purpose now. Though the disturbance in the force had long since receded, Vader could still sense the presence, like the ripples left after a wave has crashed into the shore. Whatever the presence was exactly, it was coming from Skywalker. It had to be. Vader could sense that his son was among the rebels, and he could sense that the presence was centred around one of them. It had to be Luke. There was no other possibility. He turned and approached Admiral Piett.

We will not capture a single fighter now. If he is truly my son then we will never catch him. But his feelings for those close to him are strong. That can be used to serve us. That is his weakness. That will lead to his fall… Just as it led to mine.

"Admiral, order the fleet out of formation. Allow the remaining transports to flee. Launch a full pursuit of the Millennium Falcon."

"Yes Lord Vader."

"Have the bounty hunters arrived yet?"

"No Lord Vader, but they have all reported that they are approaching the area."

* * *

Luke's X-wing tore through space. He looked around at the Star Destroyers that seemed to be converging on this area. 

Leia is here somewhere… I can sense her. Why did she have to leave in that piece of junk? If she had just left on a transport then she'd be in hyperspace now

R2 released a series of panicked beeps. Luke responded by looking forwards. R2 continued to whistle at Luke, "Yes, I can see the asteroid field. There's the Falcon! Where's Han going? Is he trying to get him and Leia killed! Sorry R2, but we have to go after them."

R2 made a series of confused noises.

"She's pregnant with my child"

R2, after processing this data in silence for a moment, released a long shocked whistle.

Luke shot across the void between the Falcon and himself, easily catching up with the distant freighter as it was forced to slow down by the asteroids.

Four other ships are on the scanners… damn, TIE fighters.

Luke flew into the field without hesitation, banking his fighter from side to side. The fighters were already almost in range, and they hadn't noticed him yet.

Just got to wait for the perfect…

Luke pulled harshly to the left as an asteroid flew straight at him, and at the same time fired, the linked blaster cannons of his X-wing tearing apart one of the TIEs. All three fighters veered sharply to the left as a huge chunk of rock floated up from beneath them, but Luke swung sharply to the right and, as he came back around, found one of the TIEs right in his sights. Another volley of fire tore off one of its hexagonal solar panels and sent it hurtling into a cluster of rocks. Luke saw the one remaining TIE up ahead of him.

The other one must have hit an asteroid.

The final TIE clearly knew he was there and was swinging from side to side in an attempt to shake the ship off his tail. Luke followed, his eyes closed now, flying with the force as his guide. He couldn't get a clear shot at the Falcon's remaining hunter.

Suddenly he was thrown forwards by a sudden jolt and a flash of light around him. The other TIE was behind him, and had hung back to ambush him. Luke swerved upwards, as much to avoid an asteroid as to get out of the way, at the same time letting the TIE in front of him escape from his pursuit.

Luke, instinctively swinging his X-wing around as much as possible, looked around for an answer.

Nobody to help. The force is doing me so much good now. Thanks for all the support Ben. Wait… maybe that would work…

Suddenly banking left and then right, Luke flew straight ahead, moving only tiny amounts to avoid being shot apart. An asteroid was flying straight at him and the TIE behind him. He leaned forwards and his X-wing shot forwards, increasing its speed. The TIE behind him did the same, accelerating to keep up. Both crafts hurtled straight at the asteroid. With only seconds until impact, Luke didn't pull up, but jammed down his thumbs on the weapons systems, releasing two proton torpedoes straight at the huge rock structure.

The result was spectacular. The force of the impact and detonation blasted the asteroid into two huge chunks as well as hundreds of small yet lethal rocks that raced off in every direction. Closing his eyes and trusting in the force, Luke flew straight into the impact site and threw his X-wing through the debris as smaller rocks buffeted his fighter. Bursting out of the swirling mass of shattered rocks, Luke was relieved to see the TIE fighter no longer appeared on his rear scanner. His smile faded when he heard his X-wing whine at him and lurch to the left,

"R2! What's happening?"

R2 beeped a hurried response as the craft began to roll over onto its side while still sliding left and Luke wrestled to regain control, "Reduce the power to the engines!"

Within a few moments the craft slowed to a crawl and Luke was able to pull it around. He looked out of the window and saw the Falcon and the remaining TIE fighter disappearing into the distance, weaving through the sea of asteroids. Luke slammed his hand into the side of the cockpit as he watched them disappear.

Great, without the deflector shield I can't risk a pursuit, and it looks like one of the starboard engines has taken a hit

"R2, see what you can do with it"

Luke's X-wing began to crawl towards a large asteroid, preparing to land to make sure that he didn't get hit by any more debris.

* * *

Admiral Piett nervously approached the Sith Lord at the front of the bridge. Vader's booming voice called out, "What is it, Admiral?" 

"Lord Vader, several fighters were able to pursue the Millennium Falcon, but two were destroyed by an unknown third party. Two others were destroyed in collisions. The Millennium Falcon has since flown deeper into the asteroid field, and we cannot…"

"Order all available ships into the asteroid field. Contact the bounty hunters. Cancel the meeting and order them to immediately seek out the Millennium. Provide them with its last known coordinates and trajectory. They may name their own price for its capture."

* * *

The rain poured down on Dagobah, and the small fire in Yoda's hut, assaulted by the torrent of dark water, was barely visible to the outside world. Yoda sat deep in meditation as Obi-Wan appeared behind him. The shimmering presence stood in silence, seemingly unable to speak. Yoda commented with emotion,"Great doubt I sense in Luke." 

"He is confused, and that is to be expected. He's just a boy. You can't blame him for wanting to defend his friends. We were all young and reckless once."

"Unless trained he is, defeated he will be."

"He will come to us here."

"So confident I am not. Much anger in him. Reckless and impatient. Walking the path of his father he is."

"I will go to him."

"Once told you I did that to be trained Anakin was not. Then listen you did not either."

"Yoda, it is too late to leave him now."

"Reckless you were when you began his training. Once more you started what you could not finish."

"You must be able to sense that he has the potential to be a great Jedi."

"Maybe. Something has happened. Changed everything it has. Now emotion is the future."

As Obi-Wan's faint glowing form faded away like smoke in the wind, Yoda rose to his feet shakily. Taking his stick, he shuffled unsteadily to the crude hole that constituted a window and gazed out as the roar of the storm shook his home. Shivering at the cold, he hobbled back to the fire.

* * *

Luke stared out into the black expanse of space, watching the sea of rocky fragments spin and move through the asteroid field that spread as far as he could see in every direction. 

Great job Luke. Set off to save Leia and now she's probably back at the fleet with Han while you need rescuing yourself… no, she's still here somewhere… she better be alright. If Han gets her hurt, I swear I'll…

"Luke."

The young Skywalker instinctively looked around, but Obi-Wan chose not to reveal himself this time, "Ben. Please don't say anything. I've made up my mind. Please just respect my choice and leave."

"Luke, you must go to Dagobah and complete the training. Only then will you be a match for Vader."

"Han attacked Vader during the Death Star attack! He's not as strong as you think! We can take him out from the air. Han was right. Why use an ancient weapon when we've got the Rebel Fleet?"

"Luke, when I first approached you, you wanted nothing more to be a Jedi. What has changed? Why this sudden reluctance?"

"It's complicated…"

No! Why should he know! Why does he have a right to learn everything about me!

"I have to go. I can't explain."

"Do not let your emotions control you. That is not the way of the Jedi."

"And what is?" exclaimed Luke, letting his head sink into his hands.

"A Jedi uses the force for knowledge and defence, but never attack."

"How am I supposed to confront Vader without being able to attack? Were the Jedi completely impotent! Have you ever taken a life?"

"Far too many. Please Luke, tell me what the matter is?"

"Have you ever been in love?" asked Luke guardedly, suddenly curious about life of a Jedi.

"A Jedi must never know love." Obi-Wan answered. Luke looked around; Ben had sounded so sad.

"They can't love?"

"No. A Jedi may not know love, fear or hate. Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden."

"You want meto be something that isn't even human! You can't expect me not to feel!"

Obi-Wan's shimmering form faded into view in front of Luke. He wasn't meeting Luke's piercing gaze. He seemed awkward and resigned. He looked up with a defeated look, "I was once young too. I couldn't always follow the code. I knew love and anger and hate. I had attachments to some people. But I never let it interfere with my duty. That was how Vader fell to the dark side. He let his emotions override his duty. Eventually it tore him apart. He couldn't simultaneously live the life of a Jedi and…"

"And the life of a real person?"

"Luke…"

"If you can't be a Jedi and a human being, then I choose being a person. I still want to learn the way of the force and become a Jedi, but the price is too high. You never told me all the negative things on Tatooine."

"It isn't a bad life, Luke."

"You died facing Vader! You want me to follow the same path! Don't I get a say in whether I risk my life! I'm not saying I like Vader. I hate the Empire, but there are ways I can be more useful. I'll be more help to the rebels as a pilot than I could be as a Jedi. It doesn't sound like I'm cut out to be the perfect Jedi anyway."

"Luke-"

R2 made a series of excited beeps and whistles. Luke flicked a row of switches in front of him and called out, "R2, fire up the engines."

"Luke, please reconsider."

"This is my life. Vader was destroyed by trying to live and be normal, and his fall cost my father his life. The force has caused enough damage for me."

"Luke, you don't know all the facts of the matter."

"Neither do you."

No wonder Leia's presence in the force feels so strange and Obi-Wan can't figure it out. If Jedi can't love, then a girl pregnant with a Jedi's child must be completely unknown.

As Luke's X-wing took off, rising slowly, and shot forwards with a roar, Obi-Wan continued to float in the darkness of space and sighed, "Just like Anakin."


	4. Distorted Feelings

Hey all, welcome back to Emotion.

Eep, I do seem to have gained a fair few readers for this! Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing! This week's review bribe is a nice glass of orange juice. Now I can't actually give you the orange juice, but next time you have a glass, imagine me there with you, telling you how great incest is.

All the best, Jon Foulds

A silent figure sat in the spacious cockpit of the modified Firespray-class cruiser. The Mandalorian battle armour carried each scar like a medal. Even now, in total isolation from the very few eyes that would dare to pry into his affairs, he wore the infamous helmet, replacing his face with cold metal and a darkened visor, as if he rejected his own humanity in favour of cold emotionless steel.

And yet, within the most feared pursuit craft in the galaxy, beneath the reinforced hull, inside the fearsome armour, Boba Fett's handsome features were twisted into a cruel and bitter smirk. This was a rare occurrence for the assassin, and was only happening as he now had an excellent chance of being paid twice for the same job. The Empire had reluctantly told him that they were after the freighter to lure a friend of the captain, Han Solo, into a trap. That meant that if he hung around, Boba was likely to be given Solo as soon as this friend was captured, and Jabba would pay a handsome fee to have the pleasure of executing a failed smuggler.

Boba had an X-wing on his front scanners. He knew that the bounty was for the Millennium Falcon, but he also knew that this was a rebel craft, the same affiliation as Solo was said to be, and this fighter was clearly heading for a destination in the asteroid field, or else he would have left by now.

Boba Fett was not just a good marksman and pilot. It took more than that to survive in his line of work, never mind being successful. You had to have good instincts. And right now, his instincts told him to follow this X-wing and see what it led him to…

* * *

Luke, thoroughly frustrated and lost, spending as much time fleeing from incoming Star Destroyers as actually looking for the Falcon, manoeuvred through the asteroid field. He had a faint idea what direction Leia was in through the force, but the asteroid field was disorientating and he found it hard to fly and focus on Leia at the same time. 

I'm getting closer… probably. They can't have escaped the area. If they did then the Empire wouldn't keep the Fleet in the asteroid field. Where is she? She'd better be alive. Ok, I'll give this force thing a shot… Got to focus… Leia… Hear me…

Luke, his eyes held tightly closed, faintly aware of the force around him, waited for a response. He sighed as he opened his eyes. The force felt alien to him. It just wasn't…

Luke

Luke sat up and looked around. He had heard her saying his name clearly, as if she was whispering it softly into his ear. For a wonderful second he had forgotten where he was and just accepted that Leia was safe and next to him, instead of with that smuggler. Sensing where she was more precisely, he accelerated towards a cluster of huge rocks.

* * *

"Stop that! My hands are dirty" 

"My hands are dirty too. What are you afraid of?"

"Afraid?"

"You're trembling"

"I'm not trembling"

"You like me because I'm a scoundrel"

Leia was suddenly aware of how close Han was to her. She was also aware of how much she wanted to kiss him…

It doesn't make him any less of a scoundrel and a rogue and everything your parents warned you about. He's just an annoyingly sexy nerf herder. Then again, I could…

Leia stood perfectly still, fully aware that she was shaking by this point, not resisting at all. Han began to lean towards her, and both their eyes closed for just a moment. She wanted this so much right now…

Leia… Hear me

"Luke."

"What!" demanded Han, pulling back in disgust, "The kid! That's all you can think about!"

Leia threw her arms in a weak act of defiance and then rushed out of the room, pushing past Han and C3PO, wishing that there was actually somewhere to hide in this ship. Shaking her head and blocking out the rough calls of Han behind her, she shut herself in the cockpit, hoping that Han would continue the repairs elsewhere.

I heard Luke's voice… I must be going crazy…

Predictably enough, Han appeared in less than a minute, though he did sit down and say nothing, which was almost without precedent for the smart mouthed pirate. After an awkward long pause, she turned around and met his surprisingly sympathetic gaze. He softly said, "Leia, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry about saying Luke's name. I didn't mean to. It was just…"

"I know you like me."

Leia felt tears falling down her cheeks again, but turned the seat she was in back around in a vain attempt to hide the fact. She choked out through the sobs,

"Fine! Well done! I'm a princess and you're a scoundrel and a cheat and a gambler and a liar and a selfish pigheaded scruffy arrogant swaggering spice smuggler, and I want to kiss you anyway! But I can't…"

"You love Luke, don't you?"

"I... Well... That's not why I couldn't kiss you..."

"What? What is it? You can tell me princess, really."

"Just before the evacuation… I slept with him."

Han, Icare aboutyou too, and I know that something could have happened, but I chose Luke and I can't ever take that back. I've made my choice, and that's all that matters. I'm sorry.

Leia closed her eyes again as she awaited the response, too overwhelmed by everything that was happening to be able to speak her mind fully.

Silence.

Then she heard him rapidly stand up and leave. Her head snapped around to watch him depart, but she couldn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She stared out into the expansive dark cave until she heard someone enter. Hoping that Han might have returned, she looked around, but saw C3PO standing before her, "Excuse me, Mistress Leia, but are you feeling quite well?"

"I just wish Luke was here."

"I'm sure Master Luke will be waiting for us at the fleet. And R2 will be with him."

The two figures stayed motionless as they stared outwards into the cave.

* * *

Boba Fett watched the X-wing wander randomly over the surface of a huge asteroid. His instincts seemed to have been right. The X-wing was looking for something in this area, and, now that he had found the rough location, he was struggling to pinpoint it exactly. Boba smiled again. This was where his ship's modifications came in useful. 

The feared bounty hunter flicked three switches on his right and he watched the screen in front of him as the powerful scanners searched the area. Within seconds the X-wing's presence was registered on screen. Boba waited for any other readings. With a high pitched beep, the computer produced a long list of coordinates as the thermal image of a Corellian freighter appeared in front of him.

Boba silently flicked two more switches, this time on his left. The silence of the cockpit was suddenly broken as whirring interference emanated from the speakers. Within a few moments, fragments of distorted human voices could be heard, and then shortly after that, he could perfectly hear some girl's voice, "There's something out there!"

Boba frowned and waited. He breathed out in relief when he heard Captain Solo's distinctive gruff voice bluntly reply, "Where?"

Boba went over the situation in his mind.

The ship's trapped in a cave with only one entrance. I've bugged their communications systems. I'm certain that it's the correct ship. There's no way they can escape now.

Boba silently thanked the anonymous X-wing for leading him to his prey as he held down a button in front of him. A reply came immediately, "This is the Executor. Please state your identification code."

"This is Boba Fett. I have them."

"What?"

"I am transmitting the coordinates of the Millennium Falcon to you now. I trust that you deal with it from here."

Boba didn't wait for a reply. He hated bureaucrats and procedures. But he would make allowances for the Empire. After all, this was business.


	5. Unlikely Alliances

Welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future; the story of incest in a galaxy where sex doesn't actually seem to exist (just kissing, marriage, and then kids, especially twins).

So, as The Empire Strikes Back goes slowly off the rails, what wacky adventures will our heroes have? Well, I'm not telling. That's what you read the story to find out. Speaking of which, read, enjoy, and leave a review to make me feel good about life.

All the best, Jon Foulds

"Lord Vader, we have them. The fleet has begun closing in on the Millennium Falcon. The forerunners have reported that they are position to intercept the ship."

"Good work, Admiral. Are the rebels alerted to our presence?"

Lord Vader had chosen the words carefully. He knew that Admiral Piett had been present at Ozell's formal dismissal. The Imperial Admiral's cold and emotionless face briefly showed a hint of panic. Vader always had the advantage in personal confrontations. He never showed fear or weakness. He couldn't.

Under the black mask, Vader's crippled and burnt jaws twisted into a smile as he sensed the Admiral's thoughts. Every memory of his early years was both a burning source of pain and a fond memory, though he buried the latter feelings deep inside him, behind mental shields that even the Emperor could not penetrate.

Vader hated the suit more than anything. It could walk and breathe and live, and do everything he couldn't. He had been handsome. Now he was a mass of well worked metal. It was so sleek, strict and, ultimately, inhuman. A mass of wires and technology. He knew all about General Grievous, even though it had been Obi-Wan who had dealt with him. He remembered the revulsion he had felt at what was essentially a machine that wielded lightsabres. The idea of aanimal-machine hybrid… thing had made him sick.

The force has a devious and twisted sense of humour.

And yet when he thought about the suit, there was one thing that he was fond of. Throughout his ill fated training, he had been surrounded by self important fools and strict old men who had lectured him. He had been told that he was too impulsive. He had been too reckless. He wasn't supposed to have felt love, hate or fear, and, obviously, like every other harmless vice that Obi-Wan had named over the years, he had regularly indulged in all three. Anakin had never forgiven Yoda for his first comments to him. He hadn't even begun his training, and the ancient warrior had been scolding him for feeling fear.

How many ten year olds have possibly 'conquered' emotion?

But now, at least, even if it was a small consolation, he truly had conquered emotion. He was feared throughout the galaxy as the emotionless dark lord. Nobody knew he himself felt fear. Nobody reproached him for feeling hate. As a Jedi, he had been constantly reprimanded for being human. But as a member of the Sith…

The Emperor promised me everything. The dark side seemed so much more seductive then. I was finally free to love, and yet Ilost her… I fell because of emotions, and became the infamous emotionless Sith. The force's sense of humour again.

Vader looked around, suddenly aware of the present again. Admiral Piett shuffled nervously next to him, awaiting either orders or a painful death. Vader glanced inside the commander's mind quickly, and saw that the Falcon had not become aware of the Imperial presence amassing around their hiding place, "Very good, Admiral Piett. Bombard the asteroid, and force them into the open. Have suitable forces standing by to intercept them. Who is in command of the nearest Star Destroyer?"

"Captain Needa, my lord."

"He is a fool. Nonetheless, he has the resources to capture them."

"There is one other matter, my lord. Fett reported a single X-wing in the area. It's possible that the pilot seeks to escort the Millennium Falcon to safety. Shall I order the fleet to pursue?"

Lord Vader stood in silence.

Only my son could possibly have managed to penetrate so deeply into the asteroid field in a one man fighter. The force is with him. Numbers are insignificant. Those pathetic troops will not capture him. A Jedi can only be defeated by another Jedi. And yet I must stay in case my master needs to contact me. We must exploit another weakness…

Lord Vader, though nobody could tell by looking at him, left the confines of his Super Star Destroyer's bridge, and reached out with his mind through the asteroid field. Luke was still there, as was the unfamiliar presence in the force. Vader could sense his son. The thoughts were not clear. Luke wasn't a trained Jedi, but the force was with him, and the boy, without even knowing it, had a strong mental shield. All that Vader could feel was a series of emotions, one of which he recognised at once.

The cloudiness… Blindness… Obsession… I know it all so well…

Lord Vader knew exactly how to capture Luke, and how to make him fall. It was even better than using his friends.

Love

* * *

Han and Leia, breathing masks carefully attached, prepared to investigate the contents of the cave they were in. It was an excellent spot to hide, but they had to keep the locals away.

As Han reached for the release switch, C3PO rapidly staggered up to them with a characteristic lack of grace, "Captain Solo!"

"If this is about you arguing with the Falcon again, I'm not interested."

"Captain Solo, I really think you should see this…"

Han irritably strolled back into the cockpit with the protocol droid following him. He glanced out into the darkened cave and froze. The cave didn't seem to have an entrance anymore. Something was blocking the stars. And whatever it was, it was firing into the asteroid.

"Han, what is it?" demanded Leia.

"Somebody's decided to visit, your worshipfulness."

"I told you this was a bad idea! Now we're trapped!"

"Yeah, that's exactly what we need! I wonder if morally outraged hindsight will save us!"

"I don't hear you coming up with any suggestions!"

"Well we can't stay here. They'll send in fighters if we don't leave, and we can't fight them off in a confined space!"

"That's why I told you not to come in here in the first place!"

"Oh why don't you and the droid just go and beuseless together in the back! Me and Chewie'll take care of this."

"How?"

"How about we fly out of the asteroid."

"Then?"

"Then we play it by ear."

* * *

Boba Fett sat in the cockpit of his ship in silence. One of the main things he had learnt over the years was that you never left when a job was over. It always paid to hang around after receiving the credits. After all, these Imperials, like most people who weren't Boba Fett, tended to be quite incompetent. 

I could give them that ship gift wrapped and even then I wouldn't bet against the Empire losing it again.

It was always a fair idea to watch how things unfolded from a distance – many employers didn't like having an assassin hanging around them after the job was done – ready to jump in and save the day if things went wrong. After all, it never hurt to be paid twice or, in this case, three times.

Fett looked on. The Star Destroyer was bombarding the asteroid, which was only slightly larger than the huge warship itself. The two massive entities floated very close to each other, as the Star Destroyer tried to physically block off the Falcon's escape route. Huge chunks of rock were being torn off the surface and were floating up towards the vessel. The Star Destroyer's shields could take it, obviously, but it was providing a fair amount of cover for a ship that might try to escape.

Of course, the Empire would take no risks. The amount that Fett had already earned today showed quite clearly that this ship was, for some reason, hugely important.

Fett watched with interest as the fire suddenly focussed on a particular area. Though he was too far away and there was too much debris and fire in the distance to see it, the scanners showed that the Falcon had, rather rashly, decided to run the gauntlet. Fett flicked a switch and watched the screen nonchalantly. The Falcon was quite simply a piece of junk, and it had been easy to hack into its systems. Fett used his privileged position now, and noted with amusement that the Falcon's shields were almost down, and, just to add insult to injury, several mynocks were draining away what precious little power the ship had left.

And then it happened.

Fett watched with surprise, followed by casual amusement, as an incredibly large space slug emerged from the asteroid, lunged upwards and latched onto the flank of the Star Destroyer with its huge teeth.

Thrashing from side to side, the creature, an immense specimen, clearly possessed equal strength to the Star Destroyer's engines, as the ship itself was tugged in towards the asteroid, slowly being tipped on its side.

The huge ion cannons that lined the vessel's flank fired frantically at the attacker. Fett laughed. The Empire expected an ion cannon to hurt a creature with such exceptionally thick skin. Though ion cannons could hurt living organisms, it would never harm anything that big.

Boba sat back in his chair and flicked on his ship's recording equipment, capturing everything that was playing out in front of him. He didn't really care where the Falcon had gone. It wasn't often that one got to see the Empire's precious fleet be so completely humiliated. No reward was worth missing the spectacle.

By now, the space slug had effectively torn off a large part of the starboard flank and discarded it, now ripping off and shredding anything that came to hand, or rather mouth, as the shields failed completely.

Anyway, Boba noted as Imperial Shuttles and TIE fighters fled, many of which were struck and destroyed by discarded metal shards of their own warship, copies of this recording would make up for any lost earnings if the Falcon did escape.

Not that the Falcon was going to get away while Fett could hear every last thing Captain Solo was saying.

* * *

Luke watched the distant scenes, his scanners not able to keep up with the amount of ships in the area. He officially and unashamedly had no idea what was going on. There was a faint nagging pain in his mind. Luke remembered how Obi-Wan had reacted to the destruction of Alderaan. He couldn't feel anything so sharply as his former mentor had, but he certainly was aware that there was death in the locality. 

"R2, what's going on down there?"

The R2 unit responded with a sorry sounding beep. Luke sighed. He had found the right asteroid – he was sure of it – but the Imperial fleet had arrived soon afterwards. Luke was a fine pilot, but he couldn't take on a Star Destroyer alone. With Rogue Squadron maybe, but not with a single X-wing.

They're on the move. I can feel it

The Falcon, and Leia's child, that unmistakable unique existence in the whole galaxy, had somehow slipped away in whatever had happened. Once again, Luke suspected, Han had put Leia in jeopardy and only blind chance had saved her and their child. Still, he had to put aside personal differences and follow them.

* * *

Leia walked silently back into the room, preparing herself for Han's swaggering boasting. True, there had been a horrible uncomfortable awkwardness between them earlier, but Han surely wouldn't miss a chance to tell everyone how great he was.

Leia sat down and noticed Han looking rather smug, when he should probably have been piloting the Falcon, "What did I tell you? All we had to do was fly out. Those Imperial slugs were never gonna be able to take out my baby. I think we can forget about the Empire now, at least while me and Chewie are here."

"And what about the fact that we don't have any hyperdrive and the Empire won't be far behind?"

"Where are we?"

* * *

Boba Fett stood on the bridge of the Executor, rifle unashamedly primed and held across his chest. The bounty hunter didn't trust anybody. Lord Vader stood in front of him, but with his back to Fett. Boba held a small device in his left hand, which loudly broadcast the conversation between Han and Leia. 

'Lando's not a system, he's a man. Lando Calrissian.You'd... Nevermind.'

'Han…'

'Bespin's pretty far, but I think we can make it.'

Lord Vader spun around and held his hand up, signalling for Boba to turn off the transmission. His booming voice called across the bridge, "Order the fleet to converge at Bespin. What is the status of Captain Needa?"

"He escaped in a shuttle, my lord." replied Admiral Piett.

"Order him to travel to Bespin. With hyperdrive we should arrive long before them. Bounty Hunter, I have a proposal."

"I'm listening."

"It seems that my subordinates are not capable of seizing these rebels. I would be interesting in extending your employment."

"Go on."

"I want you to take responsibility for capturing the Millennium Falcon, as well as the pilot of an X-wing that is following them. He is the principle target. He is a close friend of the crew of the Falcon. I'm sure you can use that. You may name your own fee, and you will have the full resources of the Empire at your disposal during your employment. You will receive further instructions later."

"I accept."


	6. Shattered Lives

Hey all, welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future!

Anyway, given how a few people moaned at the small chapter last time, I've written a nice big chapter for y'all! Y'know, because I love each of you dearly. And what do I ask in return? A simple review. It's not much to ask for, is it?

All the best, Jon Foulds

The vast domed caverns seemed strikingly empty. They had been built in better times, back when optimistic architects had swarmed to the beating heart of the Republic, seeking to glorify it. Now the great halls were shrouded in darkness. The intricate carvings slowly rotted to nothing. The detailed tableaux faded away behind layers of stagnant grime. The rooms that once saw soirées and dances for Coruscant's elite had fallen silent. As the Emperor often noted with a rasping laugh, the very rooms in which Palpatine had entertained his little Jedi puppets were now the domain of the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Sidious, shrouded by his dark robe, sat back in his throne, meditating over the tumultuous disturbances in the force. His breathing echoed through the halls, hissing and choking. The future wasn't clear. The same blindness that had blighted the Jedi in their final years had fallen on him as well. Somehow, some unique aspect of the force, neither light nor dark, was interfering with his vision.

Palpatine rose and wandered through a disguised door, out onto a balcony, which overlooked the infinite cityscape. How easy it had been to make a free planet, a free system, and then a free galaxy his own.

Right until the end, the Republic had possessed that same confidence, that same conviction in its own invincibility, and that same overbearing arrogance that had led Palpatine to take action. Even as the Jedi temple burnt, the masses had struggled blindly onwards, hoping that everything would turn out alright. And as the people turned against the Jedi, they had turned to the politicians. Everything had gone just as Sidious had planned.

There were just a few loose ends to deal with.

Palpatine had always possessed the utmost grudging respect for Padmé. In those waning days of the Republic, Anakin was a fine warrior. He was fiercely independent. He constantly insisted that he needed no help, no training, no guidance at all. Palpatine had been slowly worming his way into Anakin's trust for years. And yet, in a matter of months, that bitch had managed to gain his confidence, and his hand in marriage. Anakin had resisted the temptation of Dark Side for years, always reluctant to betray Obi-Wan. He had been seduced not by the Dark Side of the force, but by some hackneyed sweet nothings and a pair of breasts.

Sidious had known what to do. He could always provoke Anakin with constant reminders that the Jedi would not allow the marriage. The interfering bitch had proved useful. His longing for her had always made him frustrated, and Sidious had managed to persuade Anakin to direct that frustration at the Jedi.

In those final moments in Palpatine's office, with Mace's light sabre poised to move at Palpatine, it had been thoughts of her that had helped to push Anakin into his choice. Sidious could have killed Mace, but it was so much more perfect to have Anakin do it for him.

Of course, once Anakin had cut down Mace, and strolled through the halls of the Jedi temple, scything down masters, knights, padawan learners, healers, children, and unarmed librarians alike, yellow eyes blazing with anger, his journey to the dark side was complete. Palpatine could see that the whore had outlived her usefulness. Anakin could not turn back to the Jedi now, even if he did want to.

She had slipped away, but Palpatine could see that she would die. Anakin's little crusade to save her at any cost proved fruitless. Of course, Sidious had know that she would die all along. It had simply been more advantageous to lead Anakin on with promises of saving her. That was the down side of trusting a Sith Lord; it wasn't a good idea.

The Emperor laughed as he thought of the history of the Sith. For centuries there had been only two; a master and an apprentice. In reality there had been very few moments where there were truly two. The master would always be looking for a new apprentice, and the apprentice would always be looking for the moment to cut down his master. Sidious knew both these facts from experience.

However, Palpatine had not foreseen that the bitch might have children. There had been little reason to have her murdered. He had foreseen a slow and painful death for her. It had seemed fitting at the time. A slight miscalculation on his part, but it had only delayed the inevitable annihilation of the entire Jedi order. Sidious returned inside to his throne. He could not see it, but he knew that he could turn Anakin's son. He could faintly sense the boy's emotions. It was a tune that Palpatine knew.

The lowly peasant who became a Jedi. The Jedi who fell in love. The besotted puppet who was seduced by the dark side of the force. The same weaknesses I sensed in Anakin; love, obsession, frustration. It will be too easy.

* * *

The Falcon inched forwards and touched down gently on the landing platform. As Han strolled out, waiting for this Lando character, Leia scanned the area. It was far too quiet. The busy mining colony's crimson red skies seemed to be completely clear of even the tiny cloud cars. Though they had been given clearance to land five minutes ago, nobody was here,

"I don't like this."

"Well what…"

Han's head flicked round as he heard the door unlock…

* * *

Luke's X-wing soared through the fading light of the approaching dusk. He couldn't deny that this was a stunning planet. It took his mind off his problems. The asteroid collision had caused more damage than he had thought. R2 had done a good job, and Luke trusted the little astromech droid, as he was willing to trust fewer and fewer people these days. The damage to the engines had resulted in him slowly falling behind the Falcon, and he couldn't send any communications either. 

He easily weaved through the towering arches and lofty buildings.

Just like Beggar's Canyon back home

The sensors were showing that the Falcon had landed here, but something was disrupting his sensor array, and he couldn't pinpoint the exact location. Luke glanced over the narrow trenches and city streets. The place looked deserted. Luke had no idea what this place was, or why Han would bring Leia to a ghost town.

A flash of light.

Luke's leaned forwards, trying to make out the ship that had just taken off from the distant landing platform. It was approaching him.

Probably a local security vessel. He might be able to help me

Luke frowned as the ship moved closer. It made a strange piercing roar. A voice came over the communication link, "Commander Skywalker, surrender immediately."

The gruff voice was calm and cold, like it was announcing some piece of trivial information. It was as if the pilot made such merciless threats every day. Little did Luke realise that Boba Fett actually did.

"R2, transfer power to the front deflector shield and prepare proton torpedoes."

Luke felt alive again. Whoever this guy was, he knew Luke's identity, and that made him an Imperial agent. The cold voice spoke again, wholly devoid of any emotion, aside from the slightest hint of amusement. It was as if the prospect of tackling one of the heroes of the Rebellion would be a laid-back distraction for him, "Commander Skywalker, you have ten seconds to lower your shields. After that point, the smuggler dies first, then the creature, and finally the woman. Proceed to the coordinates I am transmitting now."

Luke fumed silently, piloting his X-wing through the maze of immense structures. He bit his teeth together with rage.

Leia is mine. How dare the Empire touch her…

His burning eyes continually flicked to his side, taking comfort in the blaster pistol by his side. That was another thing he could trust in. Han had been right all that time ago. The force was a mere party trick. It had its uses, but it wasn't as effective as a good blaster by your side. The force had done everything it could to mess with Luke's life. Leia's well-being kept him impotent for now, but as soon as he was on the ground, then they'd regret touching her.

Luke's X-wing landed with a lurch on the platform. Within a second, he had shoved his way out and leapt down onto the concrete, his blaster pistol raised, his light sabre hanging from his belt, completely disregarded. As Luke peered around the area, the Slave I passed overhead, its engines making the same piercing roar, and landed on an adjacent platform.

As the ship settled down, Luke took in his surroundings. His landing platform had a single path leading from it, which passed the side of a tower and led onto the second landing platform. Luke was caught in the open. He looked over at the ship and froze.

So many things hit Luke at once. The dull battle scarred armour. The cold blank glare from the dark visor. The formidable array of weaponry built into his suit. The absolute fearless arrogance with which he walked into the open. Luke sensed something about him from the force. He almost seemed to glow with hatred. Death himself would fear Boba Fett. Standing still for a moment to prove how utterly unimpressed he was by Luke's blaster, he callously called out, "Drop the weapon, or the smuggler dies."

Luke kept his blaster raised. He replied slowly and bitterly, emphasising every word, a new sort of hatred in his eyes, "I don't care. Do what you want with him. Just give me the girl."

"The girl." Boba Fett called out.

Within seconds, a door in the side of the tower slid open half way between the two platforms. A pair of stormtroopers emerged, roughly pushing out Leia. One had pressed a blaster rifle into her neck. The sight paralysed Luke. She stared out at him, her mouth hanging open, her breathing fast. For all her training as a senator, and all her confidence as a rebel leader, Leia was, Luke suddenly realised, still very young. He could see a terrified little girl in her eyes.

Boba Fett walked past Leia, deliberately moving towards Luke slowly, letting him simmer helplessly. The young Jedi barely seemed to notice Fett walk right up to him. Boba didn't speak. He roughly pulled the blaster from Luke's hand, and he took the light sabre too. He had specific instructions from Lord Vader about this part of the mission.

He pushed Luke ahead, who stumbled mindlessly forwards, never taking his eyes off Leia. He couldn't speak, and neither could she. Fett seized his wrists, binding them with restraints behind his back. Boba, bringing up his rifle, struck Luke on the back with it. Luke, locked in eye contact with Leia, staggered forwards.

As he passed her, Luke rushed forwards, struggling against the restraints that he had only just become aware of. Stuttering several times as Fett shoved him forcefully through the door, Luke finally called out, "I love you."

Leia breathed in, but then didn't speak. She turned away, tears in her frightened eyes. Luke, looking over his shoulders between blows from Boba, stared dumbly at her.

I love her. Why doesn't she love me? She loves that damn smuggler…

As the door slid shut, Luke turned around, utterly defeated. He never even noticed Han's body slumped in the corner of the hallway, unconscious from the wounds he had received as he tried to defend her.

* * *

The pair walked through the deserted corridors of Cloud City. They slowly moved away from the white gleaming passageways and their decorative sculptures, and down into the murky industrial heart of Bespin. 

Boba was pleased by how this had gone. Vader had wanted to use an old friend of Captain Solo to lure them into the complex, but Boba had other ideas. You couldn't trust anyone, and he especially didn't trust this Lando character. He was presently locked in the security tower.

Boba took advantage of every opportunity he could to beat Luke. Vader had only insisted that he wasn't permanently damaged, and so Fett kept striking him, knocking him forwards, beating him to his knees, and lashing out with vicious kicks as Luke, silent and broken, slowly stood up.

Why should I show mercy to Jedi? Did they ever show mercy? Did the demon with the purple blade show my father mercy?

As the bitter thoughts came back to him stronger than ever, Boba leapt forwards with a powerful punch, which drove Luke into a wall. The notoriously laconic and professional bounty hunter came close to screaming. He had been waiting years to finally have his revenge on the Jedi for everything they did to him. But it wasn't supposed to be this way. How could he get any satisfaction from Luke if he wouldn't fight back.

He remembered Kamino; the epic duel between Jango and Obi-Wan. Both men had fought well, but Jango had prevailed. Obi-Wan may not have died, but Jedi were good at avoiding death, as Boba had noticed, even if they did deserve it. That was what Boba had wanted. Luke could have charged with his light sabre, and then Boba could have blasted off, launching himself over Luke's head, firing down onto him, every shot deflected with ease by the Jedi Master. Of course, Boba would have won in the end, but it would have been a well deserved victory.

What's the point of a hunt without a chase?

Boba closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. The helmet hid the brief moment when he dropped his defences. He focussed his mind on business, allowing Luke to get up, and not striking him again. This was business. Vengeance, though sweet, changed nothing.

* * *

Vader remained motionless, his breathing a sinister presence in the silent room. He gazed coldly to his right, staring at the carbonite block. Captain Needa's frozen form looked back at him. He had screamed as the carbonite hit, and his body was now forever trapped in the position of a coward. His hands were raised, trying to escape, and fear covered his face. 

Apology accepted, Captain Needa

Vader sighed, though the suit made the same laboured mechanical hiss as always. Looking at Needa's form left him feeling empty inside. When he had been a Jedi, then his rare moments of violence had been a release. The cries of every last Tusken as they fell had been liberating. Each lunge and slash had eased the pain. The anger and hatred had been alien, and Anakin had embraced it. But somehow, Vader had become numb to it all in time.

"Anakin."

Obi-Wan's ghost shimmered into view. Vader turned slowly, "Obi-Wan. Most people would have taken the hint when I decapitated them. But then you always were right there when I didn't want you to be."

"Anakin, don't do this. If there is even the slightest remnant of who you once were, then do not hand over Luke to the Emperor."

"I have no choice."

"You've suffered at the hands of the Dark Side. You blamed all your problems on the Jedi, but the Emperor didn't have the answers either. Would you honestly wish your existence on Luke?"

"You always were good at giving lectures. I was the powerful one."

"You're the one in the suit."

"And you're dead."

"Only from a certain point of view."

"You told me you would become more powerful than I could possibly imagine. Perhaps you can take some consolation from the fact that you have at least become far more annoying than I would have expected."

"I am here to help you."

"You are here to interfere in my affairs, just like you always used to."

"I will not interfere. Luke has to make his own choices, and decide his own destiny, as do you Anakin."

Obi-Wan's figure faded away. Vader turned away. Luke would have a chance. After all, Vader wanted to test him.

* * *

Luke and Boba reached a thick metal door, which slid open as if expecting them. Boba suggested to Luke, with only slightly excessive force, that he should go through. Boba shook his head. He had no idea why he was doing this, but his orders came from Vader himself. He took Luke's blaster pistol and lightsabre from his own belt, and threw them down onto the ground next to the Jedi. 

Luke glanced down, and immediately felt the bounty hunter free his hands. Boba then stepped back through the metal door, which slammed shut loudly. Luke attached both weapons to his belt, instinctively rubbing his wrists where the restraints had held him. The blows to his back didn't really bother him. He had suffered many worse injuries than those before now.

Luke crept forwards, his eyes slowly adjusting in the dark environment. The air was stale, and wispy smoke snaked around the dim red lights. Filthy pipes ran up the walls. Luke had no idea where he was, or why the bounty hunter had released him. All these things were secondary to thoughts of Leia. He had to rescue her.

Luke slowly walked up the thin metal stairs towards the top of the room, trying to keep quiet. Stepping onto the platform, he looked around. Several pieces of heavy industrial equipment. A few control panels.

Then Luke saw him. The black spectre stood at the top of the stairs. He was an evil presence, and Luke felt the waves of darkness in the force. The man who had murdered his father and captured Leia stood before him.

Darth Vader.


	7. Facing Demons

Hey all,

Welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future; your daily recommended dose of incest. I'm going to try a 'regular' posting thing from now on, so expect an update every other Friday (or, if I've got some free time, maybe 2 chapters every 3 weeks). I know you all must be counting down the days already.

All the best, Jon Foulds

Boba Fett walked back through the beautiful marble hallways of Bespin's upper city, making his way back to his ship, his job officially completed. Staring out of the darkened visor, his eyes stared through the polished stone surfaces and neat sculptures. He had slowly grown to despise places such as this. His ship represented him perfectly. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done.

Meaningless art. Pointless decorations. The trimmings of decadence. Eventually, it'll all rot.

Boba Fett's cold emotionless veneer wasn't a mere intimidating façade. Boba's whole life had been cold for a long time now, and it always would be. People came and went. All life was fleeting. You learnt that fast in his business. Boba had once heard that it was 'better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all'. Having lost as much as Boba had over the years, he disagreed. He had forgotten how to feel. It was that simple. No guilt, no shame, no feeling.

If you don't have anything, at least nobody can take it away.

He passed a number of Stormtroopers. With Luke delivered to Vader, the Empire had revealed itself. Boba Fett walked back outside and saw various officers standing around, pretending to be useful. One of them moved forwards to greet him, briefly holding out their hand, but retracting the gesture upon noticing that Boba's hands were covered with strong gauntlets. Admiral Piett nodded at the motionless bounty hunter, "Bounty hunter, Lord Vader is pleased with your work."

"This there anything valuable apart from Solo?"

Piett hesitated for a moment, "Lord Vader has decided to keep Captain Solo and Chewbacca."

"I was assured any terms."

Boba didn't make any move towards his weapons. He didn't need to. Piett had already taken a step back without realising it. Boba noticed a bead of sweat on his neck. Anyone knew that it wasn't a good idea to change the terms after a job was completed, especially when dealing with somebody who murders people for a living.

"You will be compensated by the Empire for Captain Solo. Lord Vader grants you double his bounty."

The Empire's paid me well. It's not worth making an enemy of Vader just for Solo's sake.

"Very well. I will take anything else. Bring me the girl."

Leia, her eyes red with crying, her body hunched over from her overwhelming ordeals, was dragged in front of Boba, a broken woman. He cast his cold eyes over her for a moment, "I'll take her with me."

I can get a good price for a pretty thing like her as a dancer.

"What about the ships?"

"The Millennium Falcon and a standard Incom T-65 X-wing. Also, two droids."

Any ship that can make the Kessel run in under twelve parsecs will interest the Hutt.

Boba glanced over at the pair of droids. A protocol droid and an astromech droid. He looked at them for a moment.They were astrange pair of droids. Both seemed quite beat up, "Do what you want with the X-wing. What's the state of the Falcon?"

"Damaged hyperdrive. Other than that, it's in working order."

"Have restraining bolts fitted to the droids. The R2 unit will pilot my ship, and I'll take the Falcon myself, with the girl onboard. Replace the hyper drive immediately."

Boba walked towards the Falcon, which had been flown to an adjacent platform, not waiting for Piett's response. The Admiral glared after him. He wasn't used to dealing with scum like Fett, but Lord Vader had put him in charge. He marched inside, ordering stormtroopers to hurry up the repairs.

* * *

Luke, suddenly feeling very small, stared up at Vader. The Sith Lord was tall and fearsome. His breathing echoed through the room, as smoke played around his feet. Vader stood completely still, and Luke glared at him. 

He killed my family. He tried to hurt Leia.

Luke's hand flew to his blaster, which he aimed up at the Sith Lord, firing madly. Vader simply raised his hand, blocking every impact with ease. Luke staggered forwards as the blaster was wrenched from his hand, soaring across the room. Vader casually caught the weapon and threw it aside. Luke began to breathe faster as the faint clatter of the blaster hitting the ground echoed around the cavernous hall. Vader picked this moment to begin descending the steps in front of him.

Luke stumbled backwards, the sudden movement shocking him, fear engulfing his body. As his hands started to shake, he looked down on his belt.

The lightsabre.

Bracing himself, and standing his ground, he ignited the weapon, holding the blade out in front of him, suddenly very aware that he had no idea how to fight with one of these things. Vader reached the bottom of the steps, and kept walking, his light sabre hanging from his side.

He walked around a hole in the floor, which Luke had only just noticed. The youth prepared to attack, but Vader stopped. The droning hum of the lightsabre and Vader's breathing filled the painful silence, as Luke stared at the Sith Lord. Eventually, the booming voice spoke out, "I am only doing what must be done."

Without a further pause, he drew and ignited the lightsabre. Luke, the silent trance broken, leapt forwards with a cry, swinging with random blows at the Sith Lord. Vader didn't step back, but simply met every onslaught with ease, effortlessly repelling the furious swipes. Each time Luke was pushed back, he leapt forwards again, becoming enraged and frustrated. He slashed at Vader's black form, willing him to die, with each blow seeking the kill.

Vader just stood there, knocking the clumsy attacks aside. Luke, pure hatred in his eyes, threw himself at the Sith Lord, who moved for the first time, stepping around Luke with unbelievable speed, so that the combatants swapped positions.

Vader then stepped forwards, his red sabre gracefully dancing through the air with speed and accuracy, holding back from launching the fatal lunge as he was so used to, but letting the glowing blade flash through the air, lashing around Luke's body and cutting the air inches from his face. With a single precise lunge, he batted Luke's sabre out of his hand.

Luke, staggering backwards, didn't have a chance to do anything else. As he scrambled away from the red blade, Vader raised a single hand. Luke instantly flew through the air, smashed off his feet in unimaginable pain, feeling as if something had torn through his chest. His limp body hit the ground, and fell into the hole in the centre of the room. Luke, barely conscious, looked around.

Where am I? What's happening? I've got to escape! I've-

Luke never finished that thought.

* * *

Boba approached the short R2 unit, and slipped a tiny disk into it; the coordinates of Da Soocha V. He knew a gangster who would pay a lot for the Falcon. The R2 unit, a restraining bolt, the controls of which had been worked into Boba's armour, keeping him under Fett's control, moved smoothly towards the Slave I, followed by the jittery looking protocol droid. As he strolled into the Falcon, he glanced back at the pair. 

A protocol droid with an R2 unit…

He shook his head as he boarded the Falcon, noticing Piett standing nearby, still glaring at him. Boba Fett, his face hidden by the helmet, smiled to himself. Provoking Imperials was enjoyable.

* * *

Vader stared at the Carbonite block. Somehow he felt different from when he had coldly contemplated Needa's fate. But this was how things had to be. It was how they had turned out, even if he didn't plan it this way. 

And neither did she

"Obi-Wan has trained you poorly"

Vader looked at the boy. His form was frozen in pain, fear etched across his face.

This isn't my fault. This is how it must be. This is his destiny

Vader stared at him, wondering about the strange disturbance in the force. The initial wave had receded now, but it had left something behind. Vader couldn't describe it, as he had never encountered it before. It was as if there was a mist in the force, blurring everything around him. The entire Galaxy had changed as a result of this, and the Sith were unable to see how it had warped exactly.

Vader was suddenly mildly troubled. Luke had been appallingly trained. In fact, it didn't seem he'd been trained at all. He had been faintly aware of the force's existence, but other than that he was ignorant in the subtle arts of the force. How could one so inexperienced possibly do anything so significant? Vader opened up his senses to the mystical energy field, focusing on the boy. The force was barely with him, and the unique presence didn't seem to be particularly strong around him.

Vader's head suddenly flicked back. The source of the force wave… it was moving. Vader paced rapidly towards the exit, pulling a comlink from his belt, "Admiral, ground all forces. Don't let any ships leave the system."

"Lord Vader, the bounty hunter just left."

"Stop him at all costs."

* * *

Boba Fett, inside the Millennium Falcon's cockpit, passed through the final traces of the clouds, and out into space, with the Slave I flying obediently behind him. He would have greatly preferred to pilot his own ship, but the Falcon was a complicated piece of junk, and he wasn't sure thata single droid could handle it. The Slave I was a dangerous ship, but a simple and reliable one to pilot. Anyway, he could only really store the woman in the Falcon, and, though she was restrained, he wanted to be with her, just in case. 

He glanced to his left at the gathered Imperial Fleet that had appeared. He was mildly surprised to see one of the Star Destroyers move towards him at speed. Not wanting to act too hastily, he checked the navicomputer. Hutt Space was on the other side of the Galaxy. He couldn't make the jump to hyperspace yet. A voice crackled over the Falcon's old fashioned receiver. It was formal, proud, and thoroughly pretentious, meaning that this was an Imperial transmission, "Bounty hunter, surrender immediately. Hand over your cargo and you will be released after an inspection."

Boba didn't respond. He had been willing to tolerate one change to the deal, but the Empire had gone too far. Irrespective of how much compensation he might receive this time, he couldn't let them change the terms whenever they felt like it. That wasn't how this business worked. Boba lurched forwards in his seat as the Falcon juddered. They had been seized by the tractor beam. Boba smiled as both crafts were pulled towards the approaching warship.

Just a little closer…

Boba Fett then tapped a single button on his armour. Nobody noticed as a tiny cylinder emerged from the Slave I. Nobody saw it float innocently towards the Star Destroyer. The Imperial officers didn't even notice when it harmlessly bounced off the hull and rotated in the vacuum of space, a tiny item next to the imposing warship.

Boba watched the silent scene, still smiling slyly.

Then came the explosion.

Even as the capsule tore apart and the first blinding flash of brilliant blue appeared, the silence continued. Boba Fett knew that they had yet to make a weapon more deadly, more beautiful, or more illegal than the seismic charge. The shockwave blasted outwards with its deafening scream, sending its brutal waves through space, tearing through the Star Destroyer like paper. The searing shockwaves literally cut the warship in half, leaving the nose and the bridge slowly floating apart. That was another thing he loved about seismic charges. They gave you such a neat finish.

The Star Destroyer's power failed immediately, and both ships, free from the tractor beam, soared out into space, just as the front half of the Star Destroyer exploded in a blinding flash of light. None of the other ships would catch them now. Boba glanced at the navicomputer and smiled. Flicking a row of switches, the Falcon and the Slave I disappeared into hyperspace.


	8. Where Destiny Lies

Hey all, welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future.

And it looks like the regular posting thing has actually worked! Not much to say, really, so I'll let you get straight on with the whole reading and reviewing. Go on, review. You know you want to. Prove that you love me…

All the best, Jon

The final embers crackled and died, leaving the squalid hut lit only by the grey gloom that seeped through Dagobah's thick bank of grey clouds. Yoda turned his head to the tiny hole that acted as a window, all too aware of how old he was becoming. A creature screeched hoarsely as the distant rumbling of thunder shook his home.

Yoda pulled himself out of bed and hobbled towards the door. He needed firewood, and the storm would soak everything if he didn't get it soon. He shivered and turned his face away from a cool breeze. He coughed and then sighed. Things has been so different all those years ago.

"Yoda." Obi-Wan's shimmering form faded into view. Yoda continued walking on, giving Obi-Wan only a brief glance of acknowledge. Obi-Wan was looking away over the endless swamp, unwilling to meet Yoda's gaze, "I did what I could, Yoda. Luke was too keen to save his friends. He… Luke was…"

"Know I do what happened, Obi-Wan. His father's son he is."

"Luke will not fall. He'd sooner die."

"As sure as you were about Anakin, are you?"

"Yoda…"

"Seen many things I have, Obi-Wan, and known many Jedi. Many to the seductive darkness might fall. Once did I say that Anakin was dangerous. Once did I say that he was too old, just as about Luke I warned."

"All hope is not lost."

Yoda turned and glared at Obi-Wan coldly, "So Luke's sister you would train now, hmm?"

"Leia can be just as powerful as Luke. You can see it too."

"Trust yourself with Leia's training, do you? Already fallen has Anakin, and delivered Luke you have to the Emperor. We cannot win now. Better to leave Leia be than give her to Vader."

"I won't admit defeat. I will train Leia, without your help if necessary."

"Learnt nothing from Anakin have you?"

"I must go to her."

"If go to her you do, to here do not return."

"I understand."

Yoda turned and watched Obi-Wan's ghostlike form fade away. He watched the empty air for a second, before bending down awkwardly and grasping a stick with his gnarled hands.

* * *

Lord Vader paced through the corridors of Bespin, his heavy footsteps echoing through the deserted hallways. His hissing breath followed him, as if it was stalking him, like a constant reminder of what Obi-Wan had done to him. Everything that the old man had stolen from him on Mustafar. 

Vader had always known that he was different. He had longed to live, but all the sour faced constraints of the Jedi had been set up to quell all emotion. He honestly couldn't remember what had made him fall in love with Padmé. It had just happened. Things had been different back then.

Vader passed motionless stormtroopers and officers, who saluted him. He made no gesture in return, seeking out his destination. The metal mask of the cold emotionless Sith was a powerful tool of intimidation. But underneath the black suit, those enduring wraithlike whispers of Anakin lived on, screaming in anger and regret, ever lamenting the past, wanting to change it all, never forgetting the pain…

The air was stale. There was dust everywhere. The harsh beating sunlight made us both turn away from the arena. Not that either of us wanted to know where it was we were going to die. How did she always stay so radiant? After everything we went through, she was so perfect. Her hair gleamed as she moved her head. Her eyes were sincere as she said every word. She was so calm while faced with death. She had wanted to spend her last moments with me, even as we were taken out into the Geonosian execution arena. I still remember that kiss so vividly. Her soft lips…

With a fading cry for what he could never have, the remnants of Anakin were once more banished from Vader's mind. That had been another time and place. It was a lifetime ago. He had to stay focussed. He had Luke. That was enough. Whatever the bounty hunter had taken, Vader would track it down. If, as Vader now suspected, it was an artefact made by a force sensitive race, then it wasn't important. Whatever damage it could do was already done, and Vader would track it down sooner or later. The Emperor was keen to interrogate Luke, and bring him into the dark side. Luke would reveal what the artefact was.

"Lord Vader."

Vader turned round to see Admiral Piett approaching. Han Solo and Chewbacca were being led towards him, both bound and clearly injured. Han, a bandage wrapped around his shoulder, looked up in disgust at the Sith Lord, but stayed silent. Chewie roared fiercely at Vader, straining to break free, but he was held back by stormtroopers. Vader stayed at a distance, "Captain Solo."

Han instinctively drew back a step. Even being addressed by Vader was an unsettling experience. He didn't reply, mainly as he had no idea what to say to a Sith Lord. Given the option, he would have fought, but that wasn't possible. Vader took a step forwards, and raised his hand accusingly, "The last time we met was an unfortunate day for the Empire"

Han lowered his gaze to the floor. He had admittedly been hoping that Vader might have forgotten about the whole attacking him and allowing Luke to destroy the Death Star thing, "I promise you, Captain Solo, I will make you suffer. Take them away"

As Han and Chewbacca were led to a shuttle, Vader sensed his son nearby, being loaded into a cargo bay. The traces of Anakin, buried deep inside Vader's cold heart, escaped once more.

I always wanted a family. Padmé and I would have been so happy together. We could have ignored the rules and politics and what everyone thought, and just been happy together. She knew exactly where she wanted to bring him up.

Vader walked towards his shuttle.

That boy is a Jedi. I will take him to my master. That is destiny

* * *

Leia lay down across the seats in the Falcon's central hold. Her hands were bound behind her back, and her left leg badly stung from a glancing blaster shot to her thigh. She stared at the side of holographic game table blankly, seeing nothing. She felt exhausted, lost and defeated. The stormtroopers had been merciless. The first hit had been to Han's shoulder. She had taken another to her leg. Falling to the ground probably saved her life. She remembered Chewbacca's pained roar as Han fell, cut short as they hit him in the chest. Chewie was tough though, and it had taken another hit just to stop him.

And yet, deep down inside Leia, that petulant fire still burnt strongly. The same strength of mind that had allowed her to openly insult Tarkin and Vader while being their prisoner survived within her. It had been weakened by what had happened, but it would blaze up again. She felt her strength returning to her even now. Sitting up, and listening carefully in case Fett came to check on her, she began feeling her restraints. She knew she couldn't possibly open them by force, but if she could figure out the mechanism, then she might be able to get free.

After a few minutes, thinking that she might have figured it out, she twisted her wrists round and strained at the binders with all her strength. She gave up shortly afterwards, breathing deeply from her exertion. She'd have to wait until she was released, and then she could make a move. That was Leia's advantage. People thought she was just some girl, but as a senator in the final days of the Galactic Senate, as well as a rebel agent, she was a fine strategist, and excellent at quickly thinking on her feet.

She shook her head. What was done was done. The idea of her friends in the hands of the Empire pained her, but she had to worry about her own survival first, and then she could rescue them later. Her eyes, gleaming with intelligence, flicked around the area, looking for anything she might be able to break free with, or use as a weapon, "Leia."

Leia froze, flicking her head from side to side. That couldn't have been Fett's dry voice. It had been too warm and caring. She whispered in response, not wanting to alert Fett to her activity, "Who's there?"

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to help you."

Leia's jaw dropped as General Kenobi's ghost appeared in the doorway. She had watched this man die. She instinctively scrambled backwards, gripping the seat tightly with her fingers, impulsively letting a shocked scream leave her lips. She instantly regretted it as she heard movement from the cockpit. She looked on, not blinking as Fett's imposing form stalked through the corridors, and walked straight through the ghost, seemingly oblivious to his presence. He contemplated her trembling form for the moment, "What is it?"

Leia hurriedly went over her options.

Probably better to trust the ghost over the bounty hunter.

"I just woke up from a nightmare"

Boba stared at her for a few moments.

This is why I hate people.

He then turned around and walked back to the cockpit. As soon as she heard the door swish shut, she hissed at the stoically silent apparition, "General Kenobi? General Ben Kenobi?"

"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"I… What are you?"

"I was once a Jedi Knight. When I died, my spirit returned to the force, as you now see me."

"What about him?"

"The bounty hunter? I am a part of the force now. Many cannot sense the force, and so cannot perceive my presence."

Leia stared at the shimmering ghost.

Perhaps I took a blaster shot to the head too? The force… that's what Luke is always going on about… I can sense the force?

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to help you Leia. I am here to teach you to use the force. You can use what I teach you to escape."

"You trained Luke in the force… what happened to Luke? And what about Han?"

"They have both been captured by Vader."

Obi-Wan sighed and turned away, gazing into middle distance, "My powers are very limited now. I cannot follow Han, as he is not strong with the force. Luke's location will be hidden by the Emperor. I can only help you."

Leia was about to ask another question, but decided against it. She would have time to ask questions later. Now she had to get free, "Teach me."

Obi-Wan paused for a moment, looking at her silently. He looked so sad. Seeing that she had noticed his silence, he continued, "You can already feel the force, but you do not know it yet. All you must learn to do is focus it. Reach out with your mind, and concentrate on your restraints."

Leia closed her eyes, tentatively thinking about her binders, and trying to focus on them, having no idea whether or not she even could do anything. She jolted forwards in surprise as her restraints twitched around her wrists. She had admittedly been expecting to fail. She looked at Obi-Wan with a mixture of panic and wonder. He smiled back warmly, like a father, "The force can do many things. Focus your mind only on the restraints. Envision them breaking in your mind, and they will break. All things are possible to those that have the power of the force within them."

Leia closed her eyes again, this time having a vague idea what to do. Almost at once, her restraints trembled and strained, but they still held. She bit her bottom lip and jammed her eyes even more tightly shut as she thought only about the metal breaking…

Crack

Leia stood up, pulling her hands out from behind her, and spinning round to see what she had done. She stared in awe at the restraints, one part of which had completely shattered, letting her escape. She glanced at Obi-Wan, who was smiling warmly, but not meeting her gaze, as if he was thinking about something else. Leia didn't hesitate or wait for instructions. She went straight for one of the walls, and slid a tiny panel loose, revealing a hidden alcove. Han had told her about this once. The Falcon was full of little hidden recesses for smuggling, and most of them had a weapon concealed in them as well. Leia pulled out the grubby blaster pistol. It wasn't the first time she had used one of these. She crept through the corridor towards the cockpit, and noticed the door was open. Not wanting to make a sound, she glanced at Obi-Wan, who replied, "Use the force."

She glared back at him. It was rathermeaningless advice. She stepped inside the cramped area with her blaster raised. Fett was standing with his back to her, illuminated by the dazzling blue swirl of hyperspace, checking the navicomputer. She stepped forwards again, "Don't move."

He could feel the cold metal of a blaster pushed into his neck. Under the helmet, Fett smiled. He liked a challenge. Without hesitation, he leapt backwards into Leia, knocking them both out into the corridor, and onto the ground. As they fell, her blaster fired into the cockpit, smashing into one of the consoles. He rolled away from her and leapt to his feet, pulling out his own blaster with his infamous quick draw.

He froze as he saw Leia already up and with her blaster pointed at him.

She's got good reflexes…

It was a standoff, and Boba knew he always won in standoffs. Then he saw her do the most bizarre thing. She looked to his left for a moment, as if observing somebody else, and then spoke to Boba,

"You want to drop your weapon."

Boba thought about that for a moment.

I do want to drop my weapon. That would be a great thing to do right now.

He looked at her blankly as she continued, "You want to get into cryogenic hibernation capsule."

Boba walked forwards, obeying unthinkingly, and climbed into the small capsule. Han had told Leia all about it. The Falcon lacked a bacta tank, so he had a hibernation capsule added for emergency medical procedures. Leia had never commented, but she was sure it had been used for storing potentially aggressive cargo before now. Boba climbed in, and the capsule sealed with a piercing hiss, putting Boba Fett into temporary hibernation.

Breathing rapidly, she walked back to the cockpit, passing Obi-Wan, "Thanks for that."

"It's an old Jedi trick."

"How did I do it?"

"You've always known how to. You've just never realised before."

Leia walked into the cockpit to be greeted by a shower of sparks; the result of her blaster going off earlier. Suddenly panicking, she looked around, trying to remember the times she had watched Han pilot this overcomplicated piece of junk. She felt slightly ill as she realised that it was the controls for the hyperdrive that had taken the most damage. Trying to stay in hyperspace with a damaged hyperdrive unit was suicide. She had no choice but to cut the sub-light engines and hope.

With a lurching groan, the Falcon dropped out of hyperspace. Leia breathed out in relief. At least they were in one piece. She checked the control console, and it was as she had feared. The hyperdrive itself was fine, but the hyperdrive motivator was burnt out. They'd need to land somewhere soon. She glanced at the scanner, but no ships were nearby.

Fett's ship must be continuing onwards to its original destination

Obi-Wan's ghost appeared next to her, "Where are we?"

"I have no idea"

The Falcon, piloted by two people who had no idea how to pilot it, soared through space, seeking out a new destination…


	9. Darkness

Hey y'all

Welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future, now with more regular updates, and more incest completely free. Good to see some new readers aboard. Welcome one and all. Anyway, a nice big update this week, mainly because I care. Oh, and happy (belated) St Patrick's Day!

Anyway, read, enjoy and review! All the best, Jon

Darkness.

Luke struggled to sit up, but his cold limbs refused to obey. With all the panicked terror of a cornered animal, the young Jedi, blind, weak and helpless, called out to whoever might hear him. He screamed for Ben and Leia and Han, and even for his own father.

Luke gave up and collapsed back into the bed, listening to the room. He heard the bleeps and whistles of surgical droids and equipment around him. Vader watched the boy, his respirator mistaken for another piece of medical apparatus. He had come here first, escorting the young Jedi to the Imperial Palace's medical wing, before reporting to his master.

He could see the boy was in pain; sweat poured from his flushed face. The defences of his mind were lethargic from the hibernation sickness. Vader couldn't help to peer into his son's thoughts, even if they were likely to be mere illness-induced delusions and fear.

He smiled, despite the pain from his lips, which were mainly scar tissue, as he watched Luke's mind replay so much of his life. There seemed to be no order or significance to the events, due to the hibernation sickness' effect on his mind. Vader relaxed and let himself bask in the emotions that he himself had long ago spurned.

There was total elation as his T-16 soared through Beggar's Canyon. There was the love for his family. But then, creeping into his mind like black clouds, there was a grim determination for victory in the Death Star trench, and fear as he had fought Vader. The Sith Lord turned away, closing his mind to the force.

He left without ever saying a word, as Luke collapsed into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Darkness. 

The balcony was veiled in shadow, and Sidious liked it that way. Above him, the evening sky glowed with the reflected lights of the never-sleeping city. The endless streams of traffic soared through the fading twilight. The millions of pilots and workers could barely see the stars over Coruscant, hidden by the towering superstructures and heavy light pollution.

Palpatine looked out over the cityscape. He knew there was more to the planet than what most people saw. Far below him, on the lower levels, unspeakable atrocities took place in another world; a dark society without order, far away from the eyes of the masses.

Out of sight…

Palpatine released a cruel laugh. Some things would never change. Beneath the serene surface, Coruscant had rotted from within. Nobody had cared. The senators and the Jedi, just like everybody else, had never concerned themselves with it. Throughout those final years, they had trusted in the pristine superficial appearances, and ignored the decaying foundations. For all that time, the Jedi Council had dispatched warriors to every corner of the Galaxy, but had overlooked the Sith Lord in their midst.

Sidious, withered skin and yellow eyes hidden beneath the long robes, stared out into the horizon. Vader stood behind him in silence, awaiting his master's response. He knew that Sidious was good at hiding his emotions. It was that skill that had let the Sith Lord seize control of the Senate and keep the Jedi Order in check. Vader had almost never seen his master become enraged. Sidious' face, though not covered by a metal mask, was always a composed disguise. Vader had no idea how his master would respond to the loss of whatever had caused the disturbance. He had already remained silent for some time. Eventually, the grating voice cut through the night air, "It is of no importance. We will recover the artefact in time. Skywalker is more important. Where is he now?"

"He is resting now, my master. The droids report that he has a bad case of hibernation sickness."

"We will let him recover. As long as Skywalker is here then time is on our side. His fall will ensure our victory once more."

"Yes, my master."

"Now, leave me."

Palpatine kept staring on as Vader left. It was so easy. Soon Luke would fall, and kill his father, thus taking his place. Sidious thought back to the men he had deceived on this very balcony. Maul had been so keen for vengeance, and so loyal.

Such a pity that I already had my eye on replacements.

Dooku had fallen easily enough with promises of ending corruption. The old man had been so confused. He had probably been the most well-intentioned Sith Lord of all time, ever deluding himself that he was fighting for the right side. Sidious had enjoyed the look on Dooku's face as he realised what Palpatine had said. He knew he had been betrayed, and he had taken Palpatine's secret to his grave.

Anakin had been even easier. He had always let his emotions control him. He never faltered ashe was orderedagainst the Jedi Temple itself.

_The young fool was so blind. Obi-Wan would have been a good apprentice. How unfortunate he was so stubborn, even in defeat. Now Anakin will die in front of me. His son will serve me better…_

* * *

Darkness.

As people with the luxury of a working hyperdrive sometimes forgot, space was cold and black and immense. The Falcon drifted on through the endless void. Leia looked over the instruments, which were mostly dead. An unscheduled drop out of hyperspace was risky enough anyway, but doing it with a damaged hyperdrive was asking for trouble. The stress had been a bit too much for the Falcon, which was slightly temperamental at the best of times. Most systems were still down, including all the star charts, leaving Leia lost.

The young woman sank back into her chair, letting her head fall back and shooting a fearsome glare at the ceiling, in the absence of anybody else upon whom she could vent her fiery temper with a cutting remark. Obi-Wan's ghost, if that was what she had seen, had disappeared some time before. She had asked him to give her some time alone. There was a lot to take in.

Unable to do anything else until the Millennium Hunk of Junk decided to stop sulking, and suddenly eager for anything to occupy her mind as her thoughts wandered back to the look in Han and Luke's eyes as they had been dragged away from her, she called out, "Obi-Wan?"

The calm sage voice replied as the shimmering form appeared beside her, leaving some distance between himself and Leia, in case she was still afraid, "I am here."

Leia couldn't help but shrink back as Obi-Wan's ghost faded into view. Despite his caring blue eyes, it was still an intimidating concept to deal with. After a pause, she began to speak, "Why did all this happen? Why did this happen to me and Luke and Han?"

"The will of the force leads to many things that we would prefer not to happen. I'm sorry if that's little comfort to you, but I don't have all the answers. There have been dark times before now, but we must never give up."

"I… I've lost everything…"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry you have had to suffer, and I'm sorry there is nothing more I can do to ease your pain, but I will promise you something now, Leia. I swear that I will never leave your side. I will always be there when you need me to guide you."

"How can I do all of this? How do I have these abilities?"

"That too is the will of the force."

"But how did I make the bounty hunter do what I said? I don't understand."

"The force is not something you learn. It is always with you. It is a gift you are born with. Training merely realises your potential. I once knew Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. When I first met him, he was already a fine pilot with abilities beyond any normal human, but he had never received any training. The force was with him, and he used it, though he didn't even realise this."

"But I don't know how to pilot a ship."

"Yes, but you have honed your abilities in other ways. I asked you to try to suggest to the bounty hunter that he might want to surrender, because I knew you would be able to do that. The world of politics is a cut-throat business in these dark times. Did you ever wonder how somebody as young as you could become such an influential senator, as well as a rebel leader? Did you ever notice that you had remarkable powers of persuasion? I believe that you inadvertently used your natural gifts in your own line of work. Influencing people is a power you have, just as Luke used his gifts to become a fine pilot, or like many Jedi, years ago, became healers. As you say, you won't find it so easy to master other abilities, but those skills will come with training."

Leia stayed silent as she absorbed this information. It was definitely a lot to take in. She turned round as the Falcon's controls lit up with a grudging whirr, died again, and then whined back into life as Leia casually struck the bulkhead. She breathed out deeply in relief as the navi-computer beeped at her. She glanced at the readout, "This is not good."

"What's wrong?"

"We're nowhere near the rendezvous point, and we'll have to repair the hyperdrive motivator before we can join up with the fleet."

"Where are we?"

"The middle of nowhere, in the Outer Rim. We could probably make it to the Arkanis sector. It's safe, but there's almost nothing there."

"Then the force has guided us here. Set a course for the planet Tatooine. It was my home for many years, and the Empire has little presence there."

"What about the bounty hunter?"

"He'll be unconscious for a few hours after we get him out of the hibernation capsule. We can jettison him in an escape pod. What is the nearest planet?"

"A tiny planet called Lok. We'll pass close to one of the moons within hours."

* * *

Darkness. 

A faint hiss broke the silence. His limbs ached.

Ugh

Boba Fett stirred and struggled to stand up. His armour seemed very heavy. His limbs were sluggish. He staggered through the unfamiliar environment, feeling his way through the darkness. He was faintly aware of a grey blur. His vision was bleary, just like his memory.

Bespin… Millennium Falcon… That girl… Why did I put down my blaster?

Swaying and disoriented, he slowly pulled off his helmet as his eyesight began to return. He hadn't been in hibernation for long, but it was still suffering from the temporary side effects. The dark outline of an escape pod's interior slowly came into focus. Fett leant against the entry hatch to the pod, and clumsily kicked the door clear, staggering out onto the unknown planet.

The evening sunlight assaulted his eyes, which were accustomed to being hidden behind a darkened visor. He squinted at the red brilliance of the dusk, covering his face with his right arm. Stepping into the shadow on the far side of the crippled escape pod, he slid to the ground, overcome by a wave of exhaustion.

Fett looked around the desolate landscape. An flat and arid wasteland stretched out to the horizon, with tiny vines hugging the cracked, scorched land. Boba reached for the armour on his wrist and tapped a button, before holding up his hand and turning it in every direction. Boba scowled as his wrist's equipment made no response.

No civilisation. Great. This thing's range is too weak to abandon hope yet. Something could be interfering with it.

Fett reached to his belt and flicked a concealed switch. The homing beacon would let those droids find and recover him.

It always pays to be prepared for anything.

Night was falling rapidly, and Boba had to admit that he didn't know where he was going, or what might hunt at night. It was only sensible to wait until morning. He climbed back into the escape pod and sat down, resting his head against the metal wall. He noticed a small supply crate tucked neatly under the seat opposite him. Fett flicked open the box, and found enough water, along with food and medical supplies, to last for a day or so.

Shaking his head in confusion, he splashed his face with the cool liquid, rinsing the sweat and grime from his short beard and severe yet handsome features. Taking a deep drink of the water, he stared out into the rapidly fading light of the red sky.

She tricks me, freezes me, dumps me in the wilderness, and then leaves me supplies. I don't understand people…

* * *

Darkness.

The barren cell wasn't lit, and Han lay across a metal bench, trying to rest. Sleep wouldn't come, and his shoulder still burnt from its wound. He sat up as the Imperial Shuttle, modified with holding cells, lurched forwards as, Han assumed, it touched down. He immediately rose to his feet and ran forwards to the front of the cell, calling out into the darkness, though he didn't know exactly where he was shouting at, "Chewie, you alright?"

A weak and mournful cry returned from Han's companion. Predictably enough, Chewie had not got into the cell quietly, and had thrown two stormtroopers off the landing platform to their deaths while he was being loaded into the Shuttle on Bespin. They had hit him pretty hard, but Han, who was already onboard at the time, hadn't had the chance to see just how bad it was, "I know, pal, I know. We'll get out of this somehow. You just hang in there, ok?"

Another cry, sounding more like a determined roar, answered Han. As the smuggler sat back down and waited for whatever was going to happen next, the piercing shriek of TIE fighter engines could be heard passing overhead.

Great. Just great. Captured, no idea where we are, surrounded by Imperial crafts, and nobody knows we're here. Just gotta hang on. The kid'll bring help. He'll save us

Han turned to the front of the Shuttle as a door opened, and light filled the area. Four Stormtroopers, all armed, entered the holding cells. Before Han could think of something witty to say, they opened his cell and seized him, pushing him out of the Shuttle.

He froze for a minute at the sheep magnitude of troops facing him. Even that time on the Death Star, when he had been face to face with what had looked like a legion of troops, was nothing compared to this. Elite Stormtroopers, armed with powerful rifles, stood in formation, filling a cavernous hanger of gleaming metal. AT-STs flanked the troops, each of them with their cannons aimed at Solo. He could see entire waves of TIE fighters passing outside the hangar. There were easily enough to repel the whole of Rogue Squadron.

A severe looking Imperial officer approached Han, casting his eyes over the smuggler with unconcealed disdain, "Welcome to your new home, Captain Solo. Rest assured, we have precise orders from Lord Vader about what to do with you."

"It's nice to know that he cares."

The Imperial gestured at one of the stormtroopers, who led Han away immediately, closely followed by Chewbacca.


	10. Lost

Hey y'all,

Welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future, and its perfectly regular Friday update (and a big update too). Anyway, read, enjoy, and review (please review! I'm curious about how many are actually reading)

All the best, Jon Foulds

Lok's huge mass loomed large from the cockpit of the Slave I. Within the ship, as she soared over the desert landscape, glittering in the morning dew, two droids bickered incessantly, "I am not saying that at all. I am simply pointing out that we have an obligation to Master Boba."

The R2 unit beeped loudly in return, swaying slightly from side to side, his garbled whistles rising over the incessant bleeping of the tracking device, which was tracking down the bounty hunter, "You clearly have a lot to learn about human behaviour. They believe in an attribute called loyalty, and so we must be loyal to our new master. You just concentrate on piloting the ship."

R2 responded with an indignant beep as the ship rose over a ridge. C3PO struck the round top of his counterpart and exclaimed with exasperation, as if explaining something obvious to a slow-witted child, "Master Fett is your rightful owner now. We'll have no more of this Luke Skywalker gibberish!"

The ship slowed with a roar and began to descend towards the ground. C3PO, throwing his arms up in frustration as the astromech droid contained its outburst of beeps in favour of Luke, stood up and looked across the endless desert below him. His gaze settled on the distant escape pod, and the almost undetectable form of Boba Fett.

The ship touched down on the desolate terrain. As the dust storm, created by the ship's engines, began to settle, the golden protocol droid tottered down the ramp and offered his hand in greeting to Fett, "Hello sir, I am C3PO, human-cyborg relations. I am fluent in over six million forms of communication."

The bounty hunter, still carrying his helmet under his arm, took a moment to glare coldly at the annoying golden robot. C3PO, blissfully confident in his complete understanding of the human psyche, failed to notice Boba's annoyance, and continued holding out his hand in welcome.

Boba gave up, shaking his head. If there was one thing he hated more than people, it was brainless droids. But then Boba turned back to the protocol droid, frowning in confusion. He had felt the strangest sensation of familiarity when he looked at the droid, but he couldn't quite place it…

Wait… That battered frame… The frayed wiring… It couldn't be…

Boba seized C3PO's arm, and turned him round as the droid complained as politely as possible. Boba examined the subtle contours on the back of the droid's head, slowly and pensively passing his hand over C3PO's frame.

That same dent… It is…

Boba looked blankly at the droid, with the faintest hint of shock, "You… You were on Geonosis. You were in the execution arena."

"Excuse me, sir, but I'm not entirely sure what you are talking about."

It's that golden droid. I'm not mistaken. I saw him in the arena after the battle…

"You fought in the Clone Wars. You survived the attack on the Jedi, and the counter-offensive of the clone army. But I'd never have thought you'd still be in one piece. You must be an incredibly skilled assassin to have made it through the Clone Wars. And then you endured the Empire's rise and consolidation of power. Absolutely extraordinary."

"I do believe that you may have made a mistake, sir. My primary function is protocol, and I have no combat subroutines whatsoever."

"So someone wiped your memory. A great shame. The Empire thought it had wiped out every battle droid in the Galaxy. But why would the Separatists have hidden you? Wouldn't the retreating Trade Federation forces have destroyed you?"

"Excuse me, sir, but…"

"Of course. You were too potentially valuable to simply eliminate. Somebody wanted to keep a weapon as powerful as you hidden. That must be why you were reprogrammed as a protocol droid. A bit of a undignified downgrade for a warrior of your abilities, but I'm sure we can rectify that with a few programming upgrades."

"I'm sorry sir, but I do believe that I'm not quite following."

"C3PO, I am hereby changing you primary function. Congratulations, you are now a battle droid, and your primary function is assassination."

As C3PO began to stutter, Boba Fett marched into his ship, leaving the ex-protocol droid struggling to speak. The courteous gold-plated assassin chased after the bounty hunter. Boba Fett sat down, and spoke as he checked the status of his ship, "As soon as we've got you a programming upgrade, you'll get your first chance to prove your skills. I've got a score to settle, and a ship to retrieve."

* * *

Han watched Chewie's resting form sadly. The pair were locked in a bare cell that was, Han had to admit, surprisingly spacious. Either Vader had been filled with warmth of dark and evil kindness, or something was amiss. The cell, though made of sleek black metal and dark stone, was fairly large, and far more homely, though Han was reluctant to use the word, than the cell they had retrieved Leia from within the Death Star. 

Han had noticed that the structure they had been taken into was, despite the size of each cell, rather small. As the smuggler was well aware, building on a large scale was an Imperial thing. Moon-sized battle stations, Star Destroyers and then An Even Bigger Star Destroyer were just what Han happened to have encountered so far. Han had often said that Imperial officers were overcompensating for something. Either way, a tiny prison outpost was hardly the Empire's style.

Han's eyes constantly flicked to the untreated blaster wound on Chewie's torso. Blood had dried in his tangled coat, and the pain, though Chewie himself would never admit it, must have been almost unbearable. Nonetheless, Han's loyal companion had spent some time trying to tear off the bars over the tiny window, even though it was far too small to fit through, and Chewie was too frail and drained anyway. Han walked back over to the thin gap in the wall and stared out over the desolate landscape.

A barren vista of endless ridges of grey rock stretched off to the horizon. Though it was night, the never-ending terrain was well lit by the relentless search of the powerful spotlights, which were fastened to heavily armed watch towers. A group of three AT-PTs lumbered over the crest of a nearby hill. TIE fighters screeched overhead in formation. Han looked more carefully at something in the distance. One of the canyons seemed to be lit up from within…

Lava ducts. Well this place just gets more welcoming by the minute

He turned back to his companion, and spoke, though Chewie had fallen asleep through sheer exhaustion, "I gotta admit, Chewie, this one's gonna be hard to get out of…"

"You don't leave this place."

Han spun round in shock as an old and quiet voice echoed through the dim light of the cell, "Who's there?"

"Well, you can leave, just not in the way you want to."

"Where are you? Show yourself!"

"Don't make demands, friend. We're all the same here. Nothing but corpses, waiting for our turn on the pyre."

Han walked quickly to the door and put his face to the tiny viewing window. He strained his eyes in the darkness and stared into the dark alcoves. Eventually, his gaze settled on a small recess opposite him, which he had assumed was empty. A barely noticeable shadow lurked on the floor. Han was suspicious, "Why should I trust you?"

"You're wondering why I'm not locked away?"

"The thought had occurred to me."

"You've got a room with a view, haven't you? You can see why I'm here. Somebody my age doesn't go in for escaping. If you can get through the troops, the walkers, the searchlights and the TIEs, then you deserve to escape. Anyway, I'm not going to be around much longer anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Alright greenhorn, I can see you're a little lost. Ask away."

"Where are we?"

"A good question. As you've probably figured out, this isn't any normal prison camp. A dead man once told me that we were on the moon of Loronar, but I doubt it. There's not many of us here, so I'm guessing this is a secret base, which only very special people get to see."

"Well lucky us. What happens here exactly?"

"We work as slaves. It's tough work, and pretty dangerous. Then people disappear. They just get taken and then they don't come back. I'm going today."

Han paused. The voice had spoken with no hesitation, no sadness, and no regret, "How do you know?"

"The guards told me. They found it quite amusing. How's your friend?"

Han paused.

Don't tell him anything. Just get as much information as possible… Damn mercenary instincts…

"He's not doing so well. Blaster wound to the chest."

"Oh? I think I might be able to help."

The man struggled to rise and shuffled forwards, appearing to be nothing more than a bundle of rags. A shaky hand, looking like mere bones, cracked white skin almost hanging from it, emerged from the creased rags, offering a small object to Han. The smuggler reluctantly took the unmarked item and turned it over in his hands as the man retreated into the gloom. The voice spoke again, "It's a bacta canister. It's not much, but that's all I can do."

"Why would you give this away?"

Don't ask questions! If he wants to give you medical supplies, let him! Stop being so suspicious of everyone and everything!

Han turned and rushed to Chewie's side, inspecting the wound carefully, as the voice replied, "It won't be much use to me. Not where I'm going. Anyway, it's the least I could do for an old friend, Captain Solo."

"How do you do who I am?"

"I wouldn't expect you to remember me, Han. After all, you didn't last time." The shadow stirred as they heard the swish of an opening door. He commented dryly, with the slightest hint of distress entering his voice, "And here come the coffin bearers now."

Han looked round and saw troops approaching. He quickly called out, "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, Captain Solo. A name on a stone is no consolation for a dead man."

Two stormtroopers marched down the corridor in front of the cells and seized the crouching form, dragging the withered body of the old man from his dark refuge by his limp arms. He called out as he was dragged away, surrendering to grief, but laughing through the tears, "Dressed in white? Shame on you all!"

Han watched the old man leave, his cries echoing through the hallways, utterly confused by the mysterious stranger. As he began to examine Chewie's wound again, preparing to treat it, the sharp click of a single set of footsteps cut through the room.

What now?

Han, officially sick of how dark the prison complex was, looked up as a face looked into his cell and sneered scornfully. Han protectively stepped in front of Chewie's unconscious body as he heard the door's heavy locking mechanism open. As the door slid up with a swish, Han glared at the silhouette, rapidly going over his options.

The dark figure reached to his left and flicked a switch, illuminating the cell with dazzling white light. Han looked over the figure.

Neatly pressed uniform, human male, and a superiority complex. You've got to hand it to the Imperial recruiting department. At least they're consistent

And yet they was something unique about this Imperial officer, which made Han recoil from him a little. His face was twisted into a hideously cruel smile, displaying a raw emotion that was usually absent from the cold Imperial officers. His eyes stared right through the smuggler, sending a shiver up Han's spine.

The officer drew what looked like a blaster, and fired without hesitation. Han froze as he felt something strike his neck, silently piercing his flesh. Reaching to his neck with his suddenly lethargic limbs, he felt the metal tip of a sabre dart. Unable to stand, he fell back onto the bench behind him, falling so as to protect Chewie by covering his body.

The Imperial walked steadily forwards and spoke, "Forgive my actions, Captain Solo, as circumstances compelled me. You're new, and you remember freedom so clearly. You might still be contemplating escape. Don't worry about the paralysis, by the way. It will wear off in time. Let me explain a little something to you, Solo. This is no prison of metal and stone. Any idiot with a cage can keep you locked up, and I could kill you so effortlessly at any moment. This, Captain Solo, is a factory of poetic justice. This is a place where the select few are broken down until they won't try to escape, even if the opportunity is there. This is vengeance, Captain Solo. I was especially interested to hear that you would be joining us. I have, shall we say, some unfinished business with you."

The Imperial turned and walked away. The door slammed behind him, and the lights flickered out. His voice rang through the darkness, "A word of advice, Solo. Watch the horizon. That's where the ordained axe falls."

* * *

Luke gazed through the gloom, his eyesight slowly returning. He could smell dust in the air, and the droid beside him sounded older than the Rebel's medical droid. Wherever he was, it wasn't accustomed to patients. He strained against the shackles that held him to the bed, but he was still weak and tired, and he collapsed with an annoyed grunt. While time didn't mean much in this dim dreariness, he guessed that he had been stuck here for at least two days, falling in and out of consciousness. 

There was the grating creak of an old door opening, and Luke looked around instinctively, though it was pointless. He was faintly aware of a grey shape moving towards him. As the figure stopped at the end of the bed, Luke spoke, his voice hoarse and quiet, "Who's there?"

The figure was silent. Eventually, uttering a dry laugh, as if savouring the moment, he spoke with a laconic and rasping murmur, confidently, and in triumph, "Welcome to your new home, boy. I will be your master."

Luke was silent. The voice was otherworldly, and cut through him like a blaster shot. Suddenly, the young Jedi was afraid of the presence, and struggled against his restraints again. As he laboured, the figure spoke, indifferent to the gesture, "Yes. Good. You want to escape. You want to run. You fear me. You prove your worth, my young apprentice, and your potential. Allow me to help you."

Before Luke could reply, or even think, the hazy outline of the room was illuminated with red light, and a grating drone reached Luke's ears. The form leapt forwards with a staggering pace, and the red lightsabre lashed out in every direction. Luke fell back, closing his eyes.

Silence.

After a minute, he warily sat up, and lifted his wrists. The restraints had been scythed off by the lightning fast attack. The figure was back at the end of the bed, his weapon no longer visible. Luke shook his head as another wave of drowsiness came over him.

I'm not in a position to refuse help. Whoever he is, he just freed me. I can trust him more than Vader, and he's been more use than Obi-Wan

The pair faced each other for a moment, before the form spoke again, "You will find your Jedi weapon in the draw beside you. You make take and use it freely. The guards outside are unarmed, and will be no match for you. I will see you again, my young apprentice."

The figure turned and left, laughing as the door slammed shut.

* * *

Han watched the dark horizon through his window. He conceded that it was boring, but compared to anything else in the prison complex, the wandering searchlights and AT-PTs were remarkably fascinating. He had used the bacta on Chewie, and now he had to let his friend sleep and heal. 

Suddenly, something caught his attention. There was a spot of the light on the horizon, tiny yet dazzling. He looked around, leaning on the wall for support, as the entire building began to shake. He glanced outside. The entire planet was trembling fiercely. The landscape cracked and shifted. Han was also aware of an increasingly thunderous roar.

Suddenly, there was silence, and the planet stood still. Han held on to the wall suspiciously.

No way would the Empire ever build anything that anticlimactic

With a piercing roar, and a blast of hot air that almost knocked Han off his feet, a shock wave of green light filled the horizon, as if a raging storm of jade brilliance lashed and pounded the distant terrain. A moment later the tempest of light converged, and a single pillar of light shot into the sky.

As it faded away, Han stared out into space, very aware of the absolute silence. He turned around as Chewie whimpered up at him, disturbed by the noise,

"Trust me, pal, you don't want to know."


	11. The Spectator

Hey y'all, welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future. Just in case it wasn't obvious, most of the scenes in this chapters are happening simultaneously, except the last one (as will be obvious). There are a few little vignettes in this chapter, and a new character enters! Also, I've got something a little different planned for the next chapter…

Anyway, read, enjoy, and review! All the best,

Jon

Gnarled roots and dead vines clutched the cramped boundaries of the dark tunnels. Yoda limped over the uneven and filthy ground, disregarding his surroundings. The shadows seemed to move. Yoda ignored it. He knew that the shadows actually were moving.

The tree was a mirror, reflecting what was inside the occupant's mind. If he was happy, it showed his desires. If he was sad, it showed what he had lost. If, as most normal people would be in such a place, he was scared, it showed his greatest fear. For the weak-minded, the tree was a source of endless delusions. But for one with control over the force and his own mind, it was a useful tool.

Yoda paced through the dark channels, penetrating far deeper than anybody else possibly could. Not even Vader could infiltrate the tree's inner sanctum. There was too much anger. Too much emotion. As he entered a large circular cavern, deep underground, the walls were already shimmering. The room seemed to shift and roll. It took all Yoda's focus to keep the room from forming one of its illusions. Faint outlines and shades flew by Yoda's face.

The diminutive Jedi Master directed his thoughts, and the dark cave disappeared. He immediately felt the cool waft of circulated air through his thin wisps of hair. The warm evening sun poured orange light throughout the high marble chamber. The distant roar of traffic reached his ears. The chambers of the Jedi Council. Only Mace Windu and Adi Gallia, the beautiful human Master, were present.

Yoda sat down on the tiny chair behind him. He glanced to his right. Mace nodded back. He looked so strong and powerful. Determined, solemn and invincible. Alive. Mace spoke first, "It would appear as if young Luke has been captured by Sidious. This is most unfortunate."

"But he hasn't fallen to the dark side." Replied Adi.

"I do not think he has yet, but I also believe that we will not be able to sense it if he does. The dark side is too powerful now. Their presence in the force has blinded us completely."

"This is familiar territory." Said Adi sadly, "First Anakin, and now Luke. Leia's fate, too, is far from certain. Her safety is not guaranteed by Obi-Wan."

"We must accept that we may have incorrectly interpreted the Prophecy."

"Whether Anakin even was the Chosen One is highly questionable."

"Nonetheless, his birth does seem likely to have been the will of the force."

Mace sighed and paused. He stared out of the tall windows and continued, "What matters is that the Prophecy is not specific enough. The Chosen One is supposed to have been created by the will of the force, but Anakin's children are themselves indirectly born of the force."

"So there are three candidates to be the Chosen One?"

"More, if Luke or Leia ever have children."

"Even if that is true, we don't know exactly what is the balance that the Prophecy spoke of. We were overconfident when we assumed that it meant the victory of the light side over the darkness."

"Perhaps." Mace said quietly. Yoda watched the exchange in silence. He knew this wasn't real. He didn't want to think about what had really happened to Mace or Adi. The Empire had been ruthless. The illusion couldn't even tell him anything he didn't already know. But it did help to clarify matters. Also, Yoda admitted to himself, it was comforting to see the Jedi Temple again. Life hadn't been easy during the Empire's rise.

Yoda looked up as Adi, evermore immortalised in his memory, just as beautiful as he remembered her before the dark times, continued, "The Sith have only a master and an apprentice. Do you think it is the will of the force that there should be only two Jedi as well?"

"That balance has already been reached. When only Obi-Wan and Master Yoda remained, there were only two, and yet Vader was able to kill Obi-Wan."

"Irrespective of the will of the force, we are at a huge disadvantage. The Emperor's forces were able to wipe out the first Jedi Order, and now we have only Master Yoda left. Luke has been captured, and Leia is at great risk with Obi-Wan."

"We must decide what to do with Leia as well. And we still don't know what caused the disturbance in the force. We must accept that we are blind. Everything is out of our hands."

Yoda stood up and walked away. He closed his eyes for a second, and when he reopened them, the damp granite was once more shrouded by darkness.

My destiny this is not. Trust in the will of the force I must

As he walked away, a familiar voice called in his mind.

Anakin. No.

He sighed. Events were playing out elsewhere. The matter was out of Yoda's hands. His time was over. Now he could only watch. Alone.

* * *

The two suns burned overhead, scorching the endless sand wasteland with their searing heat. In every direction, the horizon was veiled by heat haze. A herd of banthas trudged slowly through a shallow valley. The distant whine of T-16 Skyhopper soaring through Beggar's Canyon cut through the midday heat. 

In the middle of the Jundland Wastes, in an unassuming hut, Leia, sweating from the unfamiliar desert temperatures, sat still, drinking from a cup of water. Obi-Wan's ghost, serene and stoical, stood by in silence, watching the girl sadly. The fact that he knew about her parentage was a constant burden.

It was painful to see her now. Obi-Wan couldn't deny that she was an intelligent, beautiful, strong young woman now. She could be happy. He was going to ruin her life. He was going to put her in great danger. Because of his intervention, she would have to fight Vader and the Emperor. And she would follow him, trusting in his benevolent nature every step of the way.

He had tried to train Luke first, and that hadn't exactly gone as he had planned. His own death had been a major setback. Obi-Wan had taken a farm boy and, it seemed increasingly likely, effectively handed him over to the Sith. He didn't dare to think about what he might do to her.

He couldn't tell her everything yet. It was too much for her to take in at once. He would tell her. Just not now.

"Obi-Wan?"

He turned and saw her looking at him, slightly puzzled by his silence, "Yes Leia."

"How did you end up on Tatooine?"

There was a long pause.

You owe her at least a part of the truth. You can't lie about everything

"The Jedi Knights were betrayed by the Empire at the end of the Clone Wars. One of the most powerful warriors of the Republic, Anakin Skywalker, was slaughtered in cold blood by Darth Vader, and the Emperor himself. I was able to save his son Luke, who I knew could become a Jedi in time. I let his family on this planet raise him, but I always watched him from afar. When the time came, I began to train him, but Vader was able to kill me, and Luke was left exposed. I asked him to go and be trained by the only other remaining Jedi Master, but he wouldn't do so. He came to your aid and was captured."

"There's another Jedi Master left alive?"

"No. I was mistaken. He can't help us now. You are the last living Jedi in the galaxy, and our only hope. Only you can defeat Vader and the Emperor."

"How?"

"Open the chest behind you."

Leia turned and pulled the small storage chest out from the recess in the wall. Opening it, she passed her hands over the coarse fabric robes that it contained, and turned back to Obi-Wan, who replied, "Look in the bottom."

Leia pushed the clothes aside, and, finding what she was looking for, nervously pulled out the sleek metal cylinder and held it uncertainly. Drawing reassurance from Obi-Wan's subtle smile, she flicked the tiny switch, and watched the brilliant green blade flash into life, captivated by the droning hum and otherworldly blade. As she gazed into it, Obi-Wan spoke, "A lightsabre. It is the weapon of a Jedi. That was the weapon of my master."

"Your master? What happened to him"

The eyes still haunted Obi-Wan. Both the cold unblinking fury of the killer, and the futile desperation of the killed. He still heard himself screaming out in pain when he went to sleep. Even after everything with Anakin, his master's death was vivid and fresh. But he couldn't tell her. Not now.

"My master died in the events preceding the Clone Wars, along with many others. He would be proud to see his blade reused after so long."

As if he knew they were talking about him, the long familiar voice echoed through the force.

Anakin. No.

Obi-Wan's smile faded slightly. Qui-Gon called out to Anakin. He shuddered, fearing what Vader might have done to stir Obi-Wan's master from his grave once more. But Obi-Wan's thoughts dwelt on something else, and he silently rebuked himself for his selfishness. A hint of bitterness stayed in his mind; anger at Qui-Gon's continued focus on Anakin.

He remembered it so vividly. Running to his fallen master, having discarded the blood spattered lightsabre, he knelt beside him, crying into his robes, just like when he was a child, waiting for the final words from Qui-Gon's lips. He hadn't known what to expect. Maybe he wanted reassurance. Maybe a pledge of affection. A fatherly gesture.

But no.

The boy. Making Obi-Wan promise to train the boy. Forcing onto the unprepared padawan a student who the greatest masters of the day called dangerous. His dying breath was for Anakin, and his restless soul hadrarely spared a word for Obi-Wan either. He had the greatest respect for his master as a Jedi, and he had relished every moment of their time together, but they had never said goodbye. At the end, he had rejected Obi-Wan. It had hurt him when Qui-Gon had offered to take Anakin as his padawan while still training Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan had been so happy when Yoda had told him that he could talk with Qui-Gon again, but the reality had been less than perfect. Through watching his former Master, Obi-Wan had learnt to join with the living force, but they had rarely spoken. What could they say to each other? Qui-Gon was still dead after the meditation was over. Obi-Wan could tell that it wasn't really his Master anymore. Too much had changed between them. Talking hadn't changed anything; it had just opened old wounds.

Obi-Wan shook his head. He had to let the dead lie. He had to let the past go. He turned back to Leia, "Maybe we should do some meditation"

* * *

The faint glow of the ether. Nothingness that infused totality. The invisible mystic energy field. He would have stood in it, had he possessed legs. Instead, he was just there; both everywhere and nowhere. A presence. Not self aware, but aware of the force. A spectator with no eyes, no body, no worldly shell. He had the faint memory of his own body being burnt, seeing it from so far away. Silently. Senselessly. 

But, hidden in the endless riddle, there was a purpose. A will. Something he saw, but couldn't understand. There was somebody else. Somebody tied to everything. Somebody who felt pain and confusion. Suddenly there was an urgency. The spectator made his voiceless cry, no longer knowing what the words meant, or what sentiment they carried, "Anakin. No."

* * *

Anakin. No.

Vader didn't respond in any way. He gazed coldly from the bridge of his Super Star Destroyer, watching the swarms of TIEs circle around the huge Imperial Fleet. The huge warships, along with convoys of TIE Bombers and Shuttles, were breaking off from the main body of the Imperial navy and leaping into hyperspace. The Hoth base may have been secured, but Vader was keen to track down the remaining rebel forces.

He felt that his presence here, in low orbit over the glittering surface of Coruscant, wasn't really necessary. His master had ordered him to oversee the Fleet's deployment, and so he was, even if it wasn't the most interesting duty. He couldn't help but feel that his master wanted to get him out of the way.

He was strangely unaffected by the voice in the force. Qui-Gon had just always been there. With the death of the Jedi Order, and the silencing of the force, he had become more aware of it. The voice that called to him as Anakin. No matter what he did, Qui-Gon always called to him as Anakin. He always called Vader back. He knew from their final meeting that Obi-Wan accepted that Anakin was dead and buried. The Emperor had created Vader, and killed Anakin.

Vader didn't know what to make of Qui-Gon's presence. His memories were faint. He just remembered the kind man who had selflessly freed him at great personal risk. Qui-Gon had believed in Anakin. He had believed that Anakin was the Chosen One. Qui-Gon had defended him in front of the Jedi Council.

Things could have turned out so differently…

Something confused Vader. Why had Qui-Gon called to him now? The last time he had heard him was the demise of Alderaan… He stared ever onwards, and the TIEs roared past the bridge.

* * *

He turned the metal item in his hands, staring at it with deep concentration. There was great reluctance in his mind. There was the desire that none of this had ever happened. There was, deep inside, frustration. There were the beginnings of resentment. But Luke couldn't sense any of those emotions. He heard the heavy footsteps pass the entrance again. 

He said that they would be unarmed…

Luke passed the lightsabre from hand to hand, uneasily stalling as he went over his options. He had to escape. He kept reminding himself that he had shot many stormtroopers on the Death Star. He had killed Imperial pilots during the Battles of Yavin and Hoth. Rogue Squadron had flown many missions. It wasn't as if this would be his first kill.

And yet he hesitated. There was something so personal and morbid about using a lightsabre. There was no blaster shot to hide behind. Luke may have pulled the trigger, but the blaster had done the actual act of killing. The lightsabre was an extension of his arm. It was vicious, cruel and irresistible. Obi-Wan's words echoed in his mind.

An elegant weapon…

Luke squirmed. He didn't know how many people might have lost their lives at Obi-Wan's hands. Luke knew almost nothing about the venerable Jedi, but the violence he had seen in the cantina stayed with him. Luke shook his head. He had to focus.

The stormtroopers were barely even human. The armour hid their flesh and blood. They rarely spoke. They existed only as the agents of the Empire, as Vader's slaves, and as murderers. The charred corpses of Owen and Beru haunted his nightmares. The homestead had been his home, and they had destroyed it. They had remorselessly taken everything from him. They were mere animals.

Suddenly there was no more delay.

Luke reached out purposefully and took the dark robe that somebody had left by the door. He slipped it over his casual clothes, and gripped the lightsabre's handle tightly. The door swished open. He had to do what must be done. Luke kept his face masked by the black fabric. He walked down the corridor, awaiting the inevitable, prepared for what must be done. A cry from some way up the brightly lit corridor, muffled by the white helmet, called out, "Halt"

The silent stand-off dragged on, as the Jedi and Imperial faced each other. Luke kept his eyes down and his countenance concealed. Somehow he couldn't bear to look at his opponent. Luke heard the rapid footsteps of the charging stormtrooper.

Do what must be done.

The blue blade ignited with a hiss. Trusting in the force over his still weak eyes, he flicked his wrist casually, lashing out with a vertical sweep. The lightsabre tore straight through the armour, slicing off the Imperial's left arm at the elbow. The soldier fell back and writhed in pain on the ground. Luke took his weapon in both hands, ready to lunge. He stepped forwards.

Anakin. No.

Luke froze. His father's name echoed in his mind. The interuption brought him back to his senses. He did the only thing he knew how to. He turned and ran. He never heard the blaster charging. He never saw the stun blast hit him. The armed Imperials, waiting in ambush, grabbed the unconscious Jedi, and dragged him away.

* * *

Sidious watched the boy lying on the marble floor. 

Young Fool.

Palpatine looked over his body with contempt. Something had made the boy falter. Something had held him back. There had been a voice in the force. Anakin's temper had always controlled him. That was his weakness. Maybe Luke had stronger principles than his father used to. He would have to work on that.

The Emperor was forced to admit that Qui-Gon's presence in force after his death, along with Obi-Wan's, was a concern. He didn't know what it meant. Maybe the will of the force had been subverted, and the Jedi were acting as its envoys, enduring to restore and enforce destiny. Maybe it was just a final trick of the defeated that he would unravel in time. If the enduring Jedi continued to be troublesome, however, he would have to find a way to remove them. Only then would his victory be complete. He had long studied the dark side, trying to find a way to destroy their presence in the force, and he was confident that he would soon find it.

Sidious reflected on his immediate problem. Luke wouldn't fall alone. But that didn't bother the Sith Lord. Anyone who wouldn't fall could simply be pushed. He could only turn or die. But still, a new approachmight berequired. He pressed a small button on his throne, "Lord Vader, come to me"


	12. The Demons Within

Hey y'all,

Welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future. Welcome all new readers. 'Kira6' and 'kawaii Jen' - it's good to have you aboard! The big news this chapter is that I've just put up chapter 1 of my brand new SW fic, **'A Jedi Shall Not'**, so please go and have a look at that! Anyway, please go ahead and read, enjoy and review,

Oh yes, and sorry if anybody got 2 author alerts about this chapter. I pulled it down and put it back up after I noticed a major oversight.

Jon

The blinding glare of the twin suns cast long shadows over the sand dunes, rapidly dispelling the early morning haze. Obi-Wan hovered in the middle of a wall, somewhere between the ether and corporeal existence, though he knew from experience that thinking about it was a good way of developing a headache. He could faintly sense Leia's presence and discomfort in the fresher. She was being ill again. He was far too polite to mention it, and, though partially omniscient and omnipresent, he felt it was only right to give her privacy. Leia herself was strong willed enough to deal with it herself, and she hadn't complained yet. Obi-Wan smiled to himself.

Just like her mother.

He frowned as he wondered whether he should bring the subject up at some point. While they were travelling on the Falcon, it hadn't concerned him. Many people suffered from illness on long journeys, and the Falcon wasn't exactly the smoothest craft in the Galaxy. The fact that her illness had continued now worried him a little. Some people reacted badly to exposure to desert conditions, and dehydration and heat exhaustion caused problems. He remembered that from experience when he first set foot on Tatooine so long ago. He decided to let it go. Leia could take care of herself.

* * *

Leia choked and rose unsteadily to her feet. She instinctively splashed her face with cold water and enjoyed the sensation as it ran down her neck. Her also took a moment to shoot an uncompromising warning glare at herself in the mirror. 

You used to be a Senator. You are a leader of the Rebel Alliance. Now it seems that you are a Jedi. You are going to stop being ill. A little heat never hurt anyone.

She took a deep drink of water. Leia knew how to take care of herself. She knew that Obi-Wan was almost certainly fully aware of her condition, but she hoped he wouldn't mention it. She not only didn't need his pity, she didn't want it. She could look after herself.

Her thoughts flew back to the men in her life. Leia felt stupid. She felt like a teenage girl, hiding in the toilets from her tutor, wanting friends of her own age and corporeal status. She could see Han and Luke clearly in her mind. She felt guilty for almost kissing Han. She felt worse than that. She felt dirty. That wasn't what she wanted to feel when she woke up. She didn't want to have to wake up every morning and wonder if Han might be gone.

Han was the archetypal scoundrel. He was the one that your mother warned you about, and the one you ignored your mother to see anyway. He was the confident swaggering pirate who every girl wanted to kiss. The action and excitement was alluring. But that was the exact problem. You didn't marry the scoundrel and live happily ever after. After the rush of being with a scoundrel was gone, what was left? Of course, she already knew the answer to what was left when Han was gone.

Luke.

The honest kind friend who'd stick around. The man who she could trust. The man who'd always protect her. His love wasn't tawdry lust. It wasn't a meaningless fumble in a dark corner of the Falcon. It was pure and true. It meant something. And now, it seemed, she was to become a Jedi, just like him. And then, as a Jedi, she could rescue him and they could be together. It was meant to be. It was perfect.

Leia composed herself and brushed an errant strand of hair back into place. It was time to get on with her training.

* * *

Vader watched from the shadows. Luke was weak and vulnerable. He could do anything. There was a flame inside the boy, and Sidious would fan the fire until it burnt away everything human in Luke. Vader could do anything. He could join either side. He could help his son, and save him, and gain whatever redemption he could. And yet, as Luke strolled through the complex, Vader did nothing. It was too late for him.

* * *

Luke wandered through the gloomy corridors, his lightsabre ignited and ready. He had woken up in another deserted room. Luke was officially getting sick of randomly falling unconscious. He just remembered his father's name and then darkness. His time in this place, wherever he was, had been so surreal. 

Only one thing kept him sane. His memory was still fuzzy, and his eyesight far from perfect. Somehow his thoughts just seemed clouded. Whenever it seemed too much, one thought had always brought him peace.

Leia.

Her shining form, immortalised in his mind, stood before him, bathed in radiance. She beckoned to him. Her soft lips were so inviting. He had to escape. He had to find her and save her. Above all, that was his mission. His Leia. His child.

"Skywalker."

Luke involuntarily shuddered as the voice hissed through the room. It was inhuman. He looked around. He was in an old office. The furniture was covered by a thick layer of dust and grime. Luke couldn't find the source of the voice. He felt a cool breeze of night air pass over his face. It was refreshing. He saw that one of the walls was entirely made of windows, but that all but one of these windows had been covered by curtains. He walked towards it, and called out guardedly, "Where are you?"

"Come boy" returned the voice, "Join me."

Luke stepped closer to the gap in the window. He noticed there was no actual door. The window had been shattered outwards with some force. Tiny shards of glass littered the balcony outside. Luke stepped over them and focused on the dark robed figure. He was facing away from Luke, and was, as usual, seemingly unarmed. Luke called out, "What happened before? Where am I?"

"You hesitated. You shied away from what had to be done. You chose not to kill that Stormtrooper. And so you were ambushed. You probably would have died had I not rescued you"

"Who are you?"

The robed figure turned and reached for his hood. Luke stumbled backwards as the dim evening light touched the man's face. The skin was twisted into hideously contorted creases. His eyes, sunk too far back into his head, glared out coldly. The yellow eyes and pallid withered skin combined to create an unsettling effect. Luke turned away involuntarily. The creature, whatever he was, was gruesome. The deformed mouth opened to release a short laugh, "What's wrong, boy? Didn't you know about your heritage? It was the Jedi that did this to me."

"No. No, that's impossible." Luke replied quietly, he stepped forwards, gripping his lightsabre tightly, before yelling at the creature, "Who are you?"

"I am the Emperor." He replied matter-of-factly. Luke leapt forwards. His light sabre's droning hum rose over the distant traffic. He held it at the Emperor's neck, his face seething with pure rage. The Emperor stared back at him, looking unimpressed by the gesture. If anything, it pleased him;Anakin had reacted in just the same way.

"Why shouldn't I kill you now?" Luke hissed, edging the blade closer to the Emperor.

"Because I am the only person in the Galaxy that can answer all your questions. If you kill me, you'll never know what happened to your father. You'll never learn the truth about Obi-Wan and Vader. You'll never see that girl you're so besotted with again."

"Leia." Luke gasped desperately. The lightsabre lowered a fraction of an inch.

The Emperor smiled, "You want to know what's beyond the horizon? You want to know the future? I can tell you. The Sith reign over the horizon and dictate the future. I can give you everything the Jedi can't, and answer every question they wouldn't."

Luke looked out over Coruscant's horizon, his lightsabre still ignited, but resting by his side. There was a long pause as Luke tried to take it all in, "No, I can't… I won't! The Empire is evil!"

"There is no evil. There is only reality. You can be the master or the slave. You can be the killer, or you can die. As it was with your family."

"Shut up." Luke snapped bitterly.

"I heard all about them." Sidious spoke slowly, stressing every word with satisfaction, "They died screaming. Beru died first. Owen watched her skin burn away. They rotted in the sun, and scavengers tore apart their bodies."

"Stop it!" Luke screamed, raising his lightsabre against Sidious.

"You feel anger. Good. Nonetheless, you can't bring them back. But you can protect Leia. And you can avenge your family."

Sidious walked straight past Luke to the other balcony, gesturing for the boy to follow. The Emperor reached the edge of the open-air platform and looked down. Luke did the same, and saw another balcony some way below. A group of Stormtroopers stood around. Two of them were talking, but Luke couldn't hear their words.

"Those troops are the very same ones that attacked your homestead. They showed no mercy. They killed your family. They destroyed your life." Sidious spoke louder and faster now. There was a hissing wrath in his voice.

Luke breathed faster, glancing from side to side, buffeted by conflicting emotions, "No… no… I can't…"

"Why not?" Sidious walked around Luke, his eyes blazing, barking hoarse orders at him, giving Luke no time to think, "Give in to your anger, and you will discover a great power. That power alone can let you change the Galaxy. Only that power can let you protect Leia. Do it! Now!"

"No!"

"Where is Leia? Could you defend her before?" Luke shuddered as he remembered the events on Bespin. He had failed her. Sidious snarled at him callously, "Protect your love! Avenge your family!"

Luke dropped quickly. The lightsabre flashed with vicious strikes. The screams echoed through the night.

* * *

Leia's eyes were closed tightly as she focused, letting her consciousness flow through an energy field she hadn't even sensed a week before. A certain connection to the force had come to her naturally, but controlling it was proving troublesome. She sat, every muscle tensed, in the shade of Obi-Wan's hut. The dangerous midday sun had passed now, and she was able to practise outside. She felt a peace wash over her. Somehow, the force was a reassuring presence. She raised her hand slowly. 

A tiny lizard scuttled away as its perch shuddered. The small stone twitched erratically from side to side. It seemed to rise effortlessly for just a moment, before dropping to the ground again. Leia flashed an angry glance at it, at which point the rock jerked backwards, as if hit by a reasonable force. She sighed as Obi-Wan's voice reached her ears, "You will have to learn to control your temper. Maybe you should rest for a minute."

Obi-Wan watched her as she fumed silently in her frustration. She had the unwavering drive of her mother, combined with the fiery hot-blooded nature of her father. It concerned him slightly. And yet he was powerless to warn her. But an idea suddenly appeared to Obi-Wan, "Leia, I have to tell you something."

She looked up with a smile, perhaps expecting a new piece of advice. His shimmering form looked away, out to the horizon, "There's something you have to know, Leia, though it might not be easy for you to understand. Darth Vader was once a Jedi. In fact, I was his Master. That was before he became Darth Vader. But the dark side of the force - anger, fear, hatred - corrupted him. Before he became a Sith, he was a close friend. He fathered a child."

Leia listened in silence. Obi-Wan knew that he was doing a bad job telling the story. It was complicated, and he couldn't tell her everything. He closed his eyes and finished the story quickly, "His name was Anakin Skywalker."

There was a painfully long silence. Leia's breathing was erratic and shallow. She looked at him desperately, praying this was all a misunderstanding, "Vader is… Luke's…"

"Yes. I wanted to tell him myself, when the time was right, but I never had the chance. I'm telling you this so that you can see how the dark side is dangerous."

"Luke… Poor Luke… It's horrible… I don't know how he'll be able to live with himself…"

Obi-Wan sighed. She hadn't reacted well. He knew he had to tell her. Just not now.

* * *

His breathing was shallow. His eyes were wide and vacant. Bile crept to the back of his throat. The faint mist of blood lingered in the still air. Limbs lay scattered away from the ravaged corpses, each twisted into pained death throes. 

"What have I done?"

"You have become the hunter, not the prey"

Luke turned away from the slaughter. Sidious, emerging from the shadows, spoke with what seemed like an attempt to sound comforting, "How many do you think there were on board the Death Star?"

It was cold comfort for the Jedi. He had scared himself. He had lost control. It had been as if he had watched somebody else killing the troops, trapped inside his own mind. Somebody else had done it. It wasn't his fault. He turned, wiping a thin bead of blood from his cheek, "I shouldn't have done that. It wasn't the way of the Jedi… I won't join you. This is wrong. I can't." Luke sounded tired and unconvinced by his own words.

"Maybe it is time to rest. Tomorrow, I will answer any questions you have"

Sidious walked away. Vader watched from a concealed alcove. Luke stared out into the night.

I will find you, Leia. I'll protect you.

Sidious laughed as he heard the thoughts of the boy, whose mental shields had been lowered by his distress.

Yes, he will… at any cost…


	13. What We Know

Hey y'all,

It's good to see new people are still arriving! Hello, Lauren K, Kimmuryiel, BlueMoonFan and Lady Nightspike.

You know, A Jedi Shall Not is up right now and waiting for you. It's the tale of two Jedi in the Clone Wars. Oh go on, it's good! Please… ok, anybody who reviews this chapter and A Jedi Shall Not gets a tickle behind the ears from me. Promise.

All the best, and hugs and kisses to all my reviewers, as you are all unequivocally wonderful people,

Jon

* * *

The hours became a day.

Luke stared at the stars. He had always loved watching them. He had snuck out as a little boy, and stared off into space, marvelling at the size of the Galaxy. But now he hated that same vastness. Leia was out there somewhere. Maybe she was staring back at him, over the limitless black void.

But Luke couldn't find her. He didn't have the knowledge. He didn't have the power. He was afraid. Somewhere out there, Leia was defenceless without him. But he just couldn't help her. He was weak. He was a mere rebel pilot, and a Jedi, and neither helped him now.

But the Empire could help him. He turned and walked into the comfortable chambers that Sidious had provided. He hated the Empire. He quietly muttered the fact under his breath, as if trying to remind himself that it was still true. And Luke told himself that he would run from them and find Leia. He could turn away from Vader and Sidious anytime he wanted to.

But he needed them right now. Sidious could give him power and knowledge. Sidious could let him find Leia, and protect her.

A nagging voice pervaded Luke's consciousness. It told him to do the right thing. It told him to turn away from the dark path. It told him that he was wrong. It told him that he was being selfish.

Luke closed his eyes and walked inside, letting himself fall onto his bed, and hid his head in the covers. The stupid whiny voice kept talking. Luke rolled over, buried his head and his hands, and willed it to shut up, but it wouldn't. He seized a glass of water and hurled it at the wall. The droplets of water drenched the floor, and shards of glass flew through the air, as Luke yelled out at the world, "Why me! Why do I have to do everything! Why do I have to risk my life day after day for everybody else! Why can't somebody else solve the Galaxy's problems!"

A silent tear slid down his cheek. The voice was gone. Another voice had replaced it.

You've done enough for the Galaxy already. Now it's time for you to take care of yourself and Leia.

Luke drew strength from the voice. He curled up and tried to sleep. He was just using the Empire. He could leave any time he wanted to. Just not now.

* * *

The days became a week.

Luke let his thoughts converge on the moment. All at once, the Galaxy was united. He felt the force saturate everything. And, more importantly, he could control it. Luke didn't feel himself jump. He just let himself bepulled through the force. This was true power, he realised. If the Empire wanted to share its power with its enemies, Luke was hardly going to stop them. He felt so strong now. He snapped out of the force trance and murmured contentedly. The jump had been nearly fifty metres. He had only really done it to prove that he could. What was more important was working on his connection to the force throughout the Galaxy.

He reached out. He could feel Leia out there… somewhere. But he couldn't figure out where. He still wasn't strong enough. He took comfort from the fact that he could sense she was healthy and strong. The baby was healthy too, but he kept that behind the mental shields he had been developing. He didn't like the idea of Sidious or Vader knowing about his child.

Luke shuddered. He hated Vader. He had always hated Vader, from the very moment Obi-Wan had told him about his father's fate. They had both been in Sidious' presence a few times, but Luke had known better than to attack him. He knew Vader was stronger. But he wouldn't be forever. Luke would become more powerful than Vader, and then he would destroy him. He would avenge his father, just like he had avenged his family. As Luke told himself everyday, it wasn't evil to destroy evil.

Luke set off at a sprint for the Imperial palace, diving from roof to roof, revelling in the freedom he had.

* * *

The weeks became a month.

Obi-Wan steeled himself as he watched Leia sprint along the red stone ridge. The girl was strong with the force. She could use a lightsabre, and had a basic understanding of most force skills, even if she had mastered none of them yet. She had the same anger management issues that seemed to dog the Skywalker family, but she was nowhere near as bad as Anakin had been, and Luke… well, Obi-Wan had no idea what had happened with Luke, and he didn't want to think about it.

But Luke was still a real problem. Leia's thoughts dwelt on him too much. Obi-Wan couldn't read her exactly - as a politician, she was good at hiding her true feelings deep inside her - but he knew that she was harbouring thoughts of rescuing him. He allowed himself a reflective smile at the naivety of youth. He had to say something, though, even though he worried about what the response might be; Leia had been rather touchy recently, and she still hadn't adapted to desert temperatures.

One thing made him keep his nerve. He knew that he had to do the right thing. He had failed Anakin and Luke, and blamed himself for all their mistakes. He couldn't fail Leia. She sprinted up the final stretch of open ground to the shade of the hut and collapsed against the wall, panting openly. She looked up anxiously at Obi-Wan, seeking a sort of parental approval from the father like figure that had adopted her. Obi-Wan smiled back, "Good. Very good… Leia, you have to understand something…"

"What is it?"

"It might be that Luke… it's been a month now… the dark side can seduce the most powerful mind, just like it did Luke's own father. Even if he does return one day, he may not be the same person he once was. The Emperor can-"

"Luke would never fall! He hates the Empire!"

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Leia stood up and stormed inside, tears streaming down her cheeks. Obi-Wan blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected a reaction that strong. There was something strange about the whole situation, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

* * *

Luke stood in the throne room, his body veiled by the long black robe. He effortlessly let a couple of chairs circle in the air. Sidious watched in silence. Vader stood beside the seated Emperor in silence. Every moment, the boy reminded Anakin more of himself. Anakin fondly remembered showing off to Padmé at the lake retreat, but Vader quickly silenced him as Sidious shot the Sith a severe warning glance. Sidious spoke out, "Do you think that you have power, boy?" 

Luke looked up, but didn't respond. He knew that he was getting more powerful, but sensed that Sidious wasn't really asking. The Emperor continued, "Power to protect those you love?"

Luke cringed, and both chairs fell to the ground, shattering instantly. The crash echoed around the hall as Sidious smiled. The girl, whoever she was exactly, had got Luke so enthralled that a mere insinuation about her safety could make him lose all control, and all reason, "Shall we see?" Palpatine hissed, pressing the switch on a small comlink, "Send him in."

A hidden door slid open, and two Imperial guards, dressed all in red, dragged in a battered human form. The filthy man looked up slowly, as if they had drained the life from him little by little. Luke glanced over warily, slightly suspicious about what was happening. But suddenly they recognised each other. The prisoner's voice called out to Luke; it was youthful and positive, so far removed from the Emperor, "Luke!"

"Hobbie!"

The memories flooded back to Luke of the missions he flew with Rogue Four. Before all this had happened. Hobbie looked so helpless. Sidious spoke quietly, but his words were heard clearly as Luke held his breath, "We captured him at Kothlis. Lord Vader, kill the rebel scum."

Vader began to move as Hobbie was thrown forwards. The guards left and sealed the door behind them. Vader ignited his lightsabre and walked calmly towards the pilot, intending to cut him down. Luke watched in distress as Sidious began to laugh heartlessly. He found himself gripping his lightsabre without even thinking about it. Without any more hesitation, he threw himself in front of Vader, "I won't let you do this."

Vader stopped a short way in front of Luke, watching the youth stand protectively over Hobbie's cowering form. He paused, and eventually spoke, a hint of what sounded like regret creeping through the mask, "Stand down, Luke. Don't make me destroy you."

Luke ignited his own lightsabre and prepared himself. Hurling his body forwards, he lashed out at Vader with a vicious blow. The Sith Lord parried, deflecting away the attack's power. The two stood apart for a second, before charging forwards again, exchanging a flurry of lightning fast precision blows, and then separating.

Luke flung his body against the fearsome spectre of Vader, constantly renewing the attack, driving the Sith Lord backwards. Vader gave ground unwillingly, afraid to retreat, but reluctant to attack.

Behind the mask, there was grief, as he looked into the cold, angry, desperate eyes of his son. He had watched the boy falling for a month, every moment desperate to save him, but unable to. He felt anguish flow through him as he watched the final embers of humanity begin to fade away, every second struggling to bat away the barrage of strikes that came from his own child, from the last remnant of his love for Padmé. Vader wondered if it was too late. He wondered if the boy was sinking below the level of redemption, like Anakin himself had.

Sidious' laughter accompanied the duel, delighting in seeing the two Skywalkers face each other. He cried out across the dim throne room to the combatants on the marble dance floor, "Use your aggressive feelings, boy! Through them, you will discover the power to change the face of the Galaxy!"

Luke was spurred on, and thrashed out at Vader with stronger blows, every second pushing him backwards as the Sith Lord hesitated from countering, but struggled to evade every move. Sidious roared out sinister advice for Luke, pushing him deeper and further towards the darkness. Vader resignedly stepped back; he wondered if this was how Dooku had felt at the end.

Vader wished the boy could see his face, aware that he was letting Anakin openly invade his thoughts once more. He stared tenderly at the boy as Luke tried to kill him. Vader prayed to the force that Luke might stop. Maybe he'd refuse to fight. Maybe he'd refuse to fall. Maybe Luke and Vader could destroy the Emperor.

Vader didn't want redemption. He had accepted at the moment that he had let Aldaraan be destroyed that he was beyond that. But it wasn't too late for Luke. It pained Vader to do it, but he had to stop the duel. He had to let Luke stop and think.

I'm sorry, my son.

With all his skill and speed, Vader pushed forwards, catching Luke off guard, and sending the red lightsabre slashing across the top of his shoulder blade. Luke swayed and screamed, and Vader closed his mind to the pain of his son as he delivered another glancing flesh wound to his leg, and force pushed him across the room.

Luke's form slumped forwards as it slammed into the wall, and his lightsabre fell out of his grip. He was conscious, but dazed and lacking in focus. Sidious murmured his approval. The duel was going as he had expected so far. Now he just had to implement the final stage, "Lord Vader, kill Skywalker"

Vader walked towards his son. There were a million things he wanted to say, but he lost the chance to say them so long before. He had walked the wrong path, but it was too late to pick another. He stopped in front of his son, who looked up at him. The anger was gone, and replaced with fear. Vader felt pity wash over him, but knew what he had to do.

I'm sorry Luke, but I can't let you fall. I'm sorry if you can't understand, but this is the kindest way. Trust me, I know.

Vader drew back his weapon.

The purple lightning shot through the room, illuminating every surface, smashing through every obstacle. Vader cried in pain as the deadly attack cut through his armour, and tortured his frail body. He fell back, squirming in complete agony as his master continued the merciless assault. Luke unsteadily rose to his feet, watching the strangely beautiful display, gaining satisfaction in the suffering of his father's murderer.

Sidious turned, and gave Luke a twisted smile with his yellow teeth, before striking the boy with a cascade of lightning. As Vader struggled to his knees, the attack was turned back onto him. The Emperor stopped, and both men stayed down, too drained to rise, "You see, boy, how the power of the Dark Side can let you defeat any foe. Only this power can let you control the Galaxy."

A muted whimper from the corner of the room drew Sidious' attention. He smiled. The next assault was directed at Hobbie. Luke crawled forwards, his arm outstretched, too weak to stand up, crying out his comrade's name. He collapsed as Sidious stopped. Hobbie was dead. He could sense it. The Emperor stood up and strolled towards an exit, followed by Vader, who visibly limped. He turned before he left, "You didn't have enough power to save him. Don't make that mistake again."

The door slammed shut with a resounding crash, leaving Luke to lie in the silence of absolute misery.

* * *

The torrential rain beat down furiously on Kamino. Boba Fett, his face once more concealed by the helmet, placed the final crate of supplies in the cargo bay of the Slave I. He had no reason to stay on Kamino, but he could pay his way these days. It was the only home he had ever known. R2 whistled at the assassin from the shelter of the loading ramp. Boba Fett looked around, and smiled as he saw a golden ex-protocol droid rapidly approaching through the storm. The upgrades were complete just in time. The droid stopped and offered his hand to Boba, which he ignored as always. 

Or maybe not…

"Function?"

"Why, I'm a battle droid, sir." Boba Fett raised his eyebrows for the first time in over a decade. The golden droid sounded so polite and enthusiastic, "My functions include assassination, sniping, the handling of explosives, and torture."

Fett smiled. C3PO didn't look like much, but the appearance of a protocol droid made him look not at all threatening. It would work to their advantage, "Good. Get onboard; we're leaving now. I've had a tip-off about the location of our objective. We're going to Tatooine."

* * *

Han lay perfectly still. He was neither asleep nor awake. His mind was empty. There were, however, fleeting images, but they were hardly thoughts. Tatooine. Hoth. People and places. He wasn't sure anymore. The prison was bathed in permanent night. Maybe it was an asteroid facility. He didn't care. He didn't know how long it had been either. Chewie was fine, and that alone gave Han some comfort; Wookiees were well built for hard labour. 

He wondered if there was a definite line between sanity and madness. He doubted it. He doubted whether those memories were even real. It all seemed so long ago, and so far away. He clung to a single thought.

The kid's coming. He's back at the fleet, and they're all coming to save you. Just hold on, and the kid'll rescue you. They'll be here any moment…

* * *

Sidious sat in the silence of the pitch-black throne room. Luke and Vader had both rested, and should have been back to full strength by now. He had waited a long time for this moment. Now he would finish this game, once and for all. He called out from his throne, knowing that they would hear him through the force, "Lord Vader, Skywalker, come to me"


	14. Trapped

Hey y'all,

Big changes this update! I've included a new spoiler warning in Chapter 1, but I'll mention it again here. Now that Episode III is out, I've been through this story, updating it so it corresponds with the canon. This means that the fic is now full of Episode III information, and this chapter is no exception.

Anyway, all the best, and love to my reviewers,

Jon

The Rodian squirmed frantically in the shadowy back street of Mon Espa, desperately trying to draw breath as the bounty hunter held him up by his neck, pinning him to the wall. Had the Rodian's most pressing concern not been imminent suffocation, then he might have been bemused by the fact that the entrance to the alley was being guarded by a protocol droid with a large rifle.

Fett pressed harder for a moment, completely cutting off his air supply, before letting him drop to the ground, "We need to have a little chat."

"Ton punta ne," he answered indignantly, choking.

Fett responded by drawing a blaster and pressing it firmly into his forehead, "The Millennium Falcon. Where is it?"

"Mos Eisley! Mos Eisley!"

Fett holstered his blaster and marched silently out of the back street, "Come on, Threepio. We have them."

* * *

Han let himself be dragged along lifelessly. The two stormtroopers had possibly broken one of his ribs. Chewie was fine, and that alone gave Han comfort; Wookiees were well built for hard labour. 

Han still didn't know much about where he was. Most prisoners seemed to be on the verge of insanity, and he wasn't completely confident about his own. The prison resided in permanent darkness, so Han guessed that it wasn't part of an ordinary orbit. The planet itself was hit by constant earthquakes, and Han and Chewie had to clear the constant avalanches. It was tough, but more importantly it was demoralising.

Han endured though. He was made of tougher stuff than most people, and he kept telling himself to stay alive and sane, as well as ignoring the voices that told him insanity wasn't so bad. As one of the stormtroopers released his limp body and keyed in the entry code to a reinforced door, Han lay sprawled where he had fallen.

The door swung open with a creak. Han raised his eyebrows at the old fashioned mechanism; this place hadn't been upgraded for a while. The troops threw him through the door and left him slumped where he fell. The metal door scraped closed behind him. Han let himself lie still, making no effort to rise.

I feel terrible…

"Captain Solo."

Han didn't respond. The voice sounded almost happy to see him. Without moving his head at all, he let his eyes scan the room languidly.

The Imperial he had met before was standing nearby, shrouded in the darkness. He had his hands behind his back, and swayed happily back and forth. He wore the same cruel smile on his face, "Now, Solo, I just thought it was time we had a little chat. You know, we're very interested in getting feedback. How's the food? What about the service?"

Han watched him approach. The Imperial marched from side to side, tilting his head, almost skipping around the room, as if he was so happy that he wanted to dance. Han looked at him with contempt.

Somebody's been in isolation for too long…

"Go to Hell." Han's voice was weaker than he had expected it to be. It sounded hoarse and frail.

At this, the Imperial laughed in earnest, throwing his head back as if this was the funniest thing he had ever heard, "Manners, Captain Solo, where are your manners? If you're not paying rent, then you can't expect good service." He paused again, breaking down into hysterics. Han watched uneasily, sitting up to make sure that he kept this lunatic in his line of sight. Han couldn't help but wonder how long this guy had been here. The Imperial continued, "I suppose I should get to the point, Captain Solo. Now, what would you say if I told you that you're presently sitting in an execution arena?"

Han paused for a moment, "I can think of worse things."

"Exactly, Solo, exactly! That's what this place is all about! Remember that old man? Tell me, what does the name Tyry Lotrin mean to you?"

Han frowned. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that he had heard the name before, but he couldn't figure out where. He glanced up at the Imperial, who returned his ever present smile, like the perverted face of a clown, "I wondered if you'd know. Captain Lotrin defected from the Incom Corporation. It was his planning that ensured that the Rebel Alliance obtained her present fleet of X-wings. We captured him on the same day we took control of your base on Yavin. I was most pleased when he arrived here. He broke quickly, and died in silence. But you… You're far more important. You saved Skywalker."

Han suddenly realised the truth, "Everyone who had something to do with the destruction of the Death Star."

The Imperial threw his hands and head up to the ceiling, and screamed his words, his body trembling with anger and grief, "Don't say that! You're just some filthy smuggler! You don't deserve to say that name! The Death Star was mine! Mine! Do you know what it's like to spend your whole life out on this forsaken rock! To work for decades on a single project! To see one perfect flawless child be born! And then… then to have common scum like you take it all away from me… I will have my vengeance on every last person who murdered her."

"Then… I'm…"

"I was interested to see if your capture might bring a few rebels out of the woodwork, but it seems not. A pity, but I will still have my sport with you. Your time's up, Solo. You're my next test subject. In a couple of days, you will be dead."

The Imperial's face was twisted into a barely human distortion of anguish, and yet, as the twisted man drew his blaster, tears rolling down his face, Han could feel only pity for the pathetic creature who had never loved anything except a battle station of metal. The paralysing sabre dart entered his neck, and as Han fell unconscious, the unhinged fusion of laughter and sobbing echoed in his mind.

* * *

Leia shuffled around, trying to get into a comfortable meditative position. Closing her eyes, she focused on the positives, as Obi-Wan had told her. The Falcon was safely stored in Docking Bay 94, and she had possessed enough money to pay for the repairs to the hyperdrive. As she tentatively learnt to trust her instincts, she was becoming a more better pilot, even if she wasn't a particularly technically skilled one. 

Obi-Wan was absent, in a state that she thought of as sleep, though the logistics were beyond her. It was exactly his absence that prompted her to meditate; Obi-Wan had warned her about the dangers of attachment, but she was unwilling to leave her friends to their fates. She reached out through the force, and allowed her mind to wander through the void of the Galaxy, searching for anything familiar. Her mind drifted through the endless complexity of the force, observing and learning, even though she-

No!

She fell forwards, crawling desperately away from the images in her mind, instinctively grabbing the legs of a table and clinging to them tightly as the tears followed frantically.

Obi-Wan appeared rapidly, sensing her pain, and hurriedly asked, "Leia, what is it?"

The girl breathed rapidly, turning away from her mentor; she didn't want him to see her cry. She forced herself to calm down, and said steadily, "I saw something."

"What?" Obi-Wan asked guardedly.

"A vision. Images of Han… he was in pain…" Leia whimpered, losing control again as the vivid pictures refused to leave her mind, "I have to help him."

Obi-Wan sighed quietly. He was glad that she had turned away; he didn't want her to see him either, as he reflected on the past. Leia was certainly her father's daughter. Just like him, she was eager to go and be the hero without giving the situation due thought. During his exile, he had figured out much of what had happened in those final months. It seemed as if Anakin had brought his nightmares to life by the very actions through which he had tried to stop them.

He hesitantly spoke, "You cannot chase dreams and images. You can't change what is meant to happen. Death is-"

"He'll die!" Leia exclaimed, her head flicking round.

"Perhaps," Obi-Wan admitted sadly, "But death is a natural part of life." Obi-Wan felt guilty for saying it. He had constantly admonished Anakin about not being able to let go. He had heard that Master Yoda had told Anakin the exact same thing just before the dark times began. And yet, for every time they had reproached Anakin, Obi-Wan himself hadn't been willing to accept his death, but had endured. He prayed that Leia wouldn't notice the hypocrisy.

"I won't let him die!" Leia yelled at the expressionless ghost, "I have to help him, without you if I have to."

Obi-Wan watched her pace determinedly, throwing things into a bag as if every second counted. He saw echoes of Anakin in every step she took, in every reckless and impulsive determined thought. Then again, he reminded himself, if Anakin hadn't tried to rescue him on Geonosis, he may well have died there. The memories of Anakin flooded back.

You were the chosen one…

He had screamed it at Anakin, but it was too late by then. If only he'd treated Anakin differently. Maybe if he had given him the freedom he sought then none of this would have happened. Maybe if they hadn't so constantly tried to put Anakin in his place. He was supposed to have been Anakin's Master, but also his father, and his brother. He could see now that Leia, like Anakin, didn't need a Master. She needed him to play the father.

He turned back to her as she shot a bitter glance at him, "Then I will help you, whatever you choose to do."

Leia paused and her anger melted instantly, "Thank you." She blushed as she set her bag down. She realised, now that she was being rational again, that she had no idea how to find Han.

Obi-Wan anticipated the question, "We should depart from Mos Eisley immediately. I think I know how to find him."

* * *

Luke walked tensely through the empty ruins, gazing at the cavernous arches, dimly lit by the fading evening light. As he noticed each spiralling staircase, and immense statue, he wondered what this place was. And yet, Luke's focus was mainly on Vader, and their last duel. His injuries hadn't been serious, and the droids had easily healed him, but his pride was still wounded deeply. Sidious staggered with the aid of a walking stick to Luke's left, and beyond him strolled Vader. Luke almost thought that Vader seemed reluctant to be there, but he knew that he was probably imagining things. 

The three men passed between two colossal statues and through an open door into a circular room, which looked out over the cityscape. The Emperor raised his hand and effortlessly pulled a chair out of the corner of the room, which he then sat down on, leaving the other two standing in silence, pensively waiting for whatever the Emperor had planned.

Vader felt nothing. Every rational part of him told him that he had been brought here to die, but Vader had grown used to ignoring the rational, and finding his own truth, whether it was to blame Obi-Wan for everything, or reassure himself that he had done the right thing in Palpatine's office. He refused to believe that the Emperor would betray him. Anakin had given up everything for his Master. He had done everything that he had been asked to. Sidious wouldn't betray him.

The Emperor looked from Luke to Anakin, despising them both for their human qualities. He would enjoy this, "Welcome to the Jedi Temple. Now, boy, it is time that you told me what caused the disturbance in the force. What did you do?"

Luke stayed silent, glaring out of the window at the stars. The child was his, and nobody else had a right to know about it. The Emperor's cold yellow eyes drilled into Luke. Sidious continued, a hint of bitterness in his voice, "If you do not trust me, then I will prove my good intentions to you. It is time that you learnt the truth, boy."

Luke gazed back at Sidious, confusion spreading across his features, "What?"

"I will tell you the truth about your father."

Luke instinctively turned to Vader, gripping his lightsabre tightly, tears pricking his eyes, "Vader murdered him."

"No, boy. That was a lie."

Luke suddenly felt very ill. Fear washed over him, and then anger; why did everybody keep lying to him about his father? He was desperate to just learn the truth, "Who was he?" There was a long pause. Luke noticed Vader staring at him, "Just tell me!"

The Emperor laughed, "You may find out for yourself, boy. Sometimes actions can create a disturbance in the force so powerful that they leave rifts that time cannot heal. One such rift exists around the remains of Aldaraan. You are standing in another now. Open your mind to the force, and you will see your father."

Luke breathed out in shock, smiling widely. He would finally truly get to see his father. He concentrated on suppressing his emotions and concentrating. The room warped and shifted around him. The windows became clean, small chairs appeared him, the marble floor had been swept recently. The room was veiled in darkness. Luke turned as he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

He gasped as his own father entered the room and looked around. Luke was suddenly aware of the total silence around him as he watched his father; the pair had a strong resemblance, and Anakin looked proud and dignified. Luke watched a number of children appear from behind the chairs. His father was clearly a powerful Jedi, and he must have been about to give these children lightsabre training.

Anakin ignited the blade. Luke noticed the coldness in his eyes, together with the tinge of yellow. He backed away as Anakin stepped forwards and raised his blade, swinging it down with great power, slicing straight through the undefended body of the first child.

Luke felt so far away as he watched the scene. He screamed out at what he couldn't change, "Father!"

The merciless assault continued, hacking down innocent infants in cold blood. The scene shifted as Luke felt disgust and fear and anger and hatred flow through him, desperate to escape the nightmarish scene.

"Father!" Luke screamed as he became aware of Vader and Sidious again. He was trembling and gasping for air, covered in sweat. His whole life had been a lie, he realised, and there was nothing he could do about it. The truth exposed everything that Obi-Wan had ever told him as false, but he had to know. For better or for worse, Luke had to know the whole truth, "What happened to him?"

"He was cut down by Obi-Wan Kenobi."

This reality cut through Luke like a lightsabre, severing the boy from his past.

"But Obi-Wan was not strong enough to kill him. I saved your father."

Luke looked up at Sidious' emotionless face as the final revelation hit him. The truth dawned on him slowly, and Luke desperately tried to reject the one conclusion he knew to be true. The bitter tears streamed down his face as he sobbed on his hands and knees, willing for this to be nightmare.

He raised his trembling head towards Vader, "How could you?" Luke whispered desperately, his grief turning to a cold numbness throughout his body.

Vader met his gaze through his mask, "Luke…" Vader couldn't say anything else. He wanted to finish, but what could he say to his son?

As Luke rose to his feet, visibly lost and vulnerable, Sidious continued, "You never knew your mother, boy. Vader murdered her, and tried to murder you. Your father is dead, killed by Lord Vader; he murdered every last member of your family."

Vader watched the events silently, as if watching an inescapable chain of events progress relentlessly towards its conclusion. He hated himself for murdering those children, and for everything he had ever done, but it was too late now. He despondently turned to see his son seething by his side. Luke wasn't thinking straight, and he was looking for a scapegoat. The blue blade ignited.

Sidious watched as Vader drew his own red lightsabre in defence, "Let your anger control you, Luke. Allow all the hate to flow through you. It will give you focus and power!"

Luke's eyes blazed as he prepared to strike down Vader, "Yes… my Master."

Sidious smiled faintly as Luke leapt forwards into combat, lashing out with powerful sweeping blows, giving in to his emotions, trusting his instincts, becoming the unthinking killing machine that Sidious wanted him to be. Vader fell back under the assault, but kept defending himself; he had lost the will to fight, but not the will to live. His master, the man for whom he had lost everything, had betrayed him. Vader had rejected the light, and been deceived by the darkness.

The sabres clashed with great force, and father and son both pushed towards the other, trying to survive the other's assault. The screeching groan of lightsabres forced together rose over the noise of their breathing, as Luke's face was illuminated by red, Vader's by blue.

Sidious called out to Luke, "Let me help you!"

"What?"

"I want to help you! I can only help you if you tell me what caused this disturbance!"

Luke contemplated the Emperor. Sidious had told him everything that he wanted to know. He had told Luke the truth, and, however painful it was, Luke couldn't resent him for doing so. He knew that he might not be able to look after Leia alone. He closed his eyes, "Leia's pregnant with my child."

The duel stopped immediately as Vader stepped back and Sidious froze, a poisoned scowl appearing on his face. The Emperor had spent years awaiting the final destruction of the Jedi, and now there was another Skywalker out there. And yet, after a second, his smile reappeared, "This may work to our advantage."

Vader was pained as the situation seemed so familiar to him. He couldn't stay silent any longer, "Luke, don't trust him! He'll betray you! He'll-"

"My young apprentice, kill Lord Vader."

Luke charged, and Vader saw that he couldn't win. With a final silent goodbye to his son, he threw himself backwards and smashed through the window into the cool evening air.

* * *

Vader felt at peace as he fell. There was no fear. In fact, there was no emotion. He had sacrificed everything for Padmé, and then lost her. All he had ever had from that day was the dark side. He knew what he had to do. He casually reached out, and grabbed onto the roof of a transport. He had to go to her.

* * *

Luke bowed in front of Sidious, keeping his head down. The Sith Lord smiled, "You have done well, Skywalker. Now you must go and retrieve Leia." 

"But I can't find her," said Luke dejectedly.

"I sense…" Sidious hesitated for effect as Luke stared at him thoughtfully, "I sense that she is on Tatooine."

"What?"

"She is with Kenobi."

"I've got to get to her before he poisons her mind!"

"I fear it may already be too late… Her thoughts dwell on a smuggler"

"Han," breathed Luke with pure hatred in his voice.

"Take the fleet to Tatooine and find her. Then bring her here."

"Yes, my master."

"You are a Sith Lord, now, boy, and I sense that you have the power to deliver the final death wound to the Jedi Order."

Luke, a silent tear falling, wondered how he had become so entrapped by the dark side. And yet, he still needed the Emperor's help. He could turn back from the darkness. Just not now.

"Yes, my master."

"Lord Morningstar," he said slowly, savouring the moment, "Rise."

Luke stood and turned, walking away from his master, praying he was not too late to save Leia from Obi-Wan.


	15. What We Are

Hey all, welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future.

I hope the name Morningstar grows on people a bit; the Lucifer reference is completely intentional, and it's an allusion to Paradise Lost. I also hope this chapter answers some questions that reviewers have brought up.

Anyway, love to my reviewers, as reviews make me happy!

Jon

The Executor lethargically rose, its powerful engines pushing against the ship's own colossal weight, and the pull of gravity in low orbit over Coruscant. Luke passively let his gaze wander over the sleek body of the expansive warship, and to the pair of more conventional Star Destroyers that flanked the flagship, framed against the dim red of the evening sky. Luke adjusted his stance to steady himself as the Star Destroyer juddered, passing through the final wisps of cloud and into the dark cold vastness of space.

Luke reluctantly tried to go over everything that had happened, and kept coming back to the same question.

Who are you?

He wondered who was asking the question, and who was supposed to answer it. He drew the silver lightsabre handle from his under his black robe, and ignited the red blade, listlessly waving it back and forth. He glanced over his shoulder, and momentarily caught Piett's eye, before the Admiral turned and addressed a lieutenant. Luke turned off his new lightsabre. He hadn't been able to keep his father's lightsabre, not now that he knew what it had been used for all those years ago.

Luke turned as he heard Admiral Piett approach. The Imperial bowed quickly; he hadn't exactly felt confident when Vader had been in command, but Morningstar was completely unknown territory, and his anxiety was obvious, "Lord Morningstar, the coordinates for Tatooine are set, we're ready to make the jump to hyperspace."

Luke looked over Piett's body, detesting him immediately. Piett looked like he had been born in a neatly pressed uniform, and Luke had no doubt that he had spent his whole life following the orders of superiors without question. Men like him would have had secretaries just to sign the death warrants, if the Empire had bothered with them. Luke stayed calm; he needed Piett's cooperation for the moment, "You will not call me that again, Admiral. My name is Skywalker."

"Yes, Lord Skywalker," Piett stuttered, bowing as he backed away.

"You may proceed, Admiral."

Luke watched the swirling light of hyperspace from the deck's long window. He knew who he was, he suddenly realised. He was Luke Skywalker. What did it matter if Sidious wanted to give him a new name? A name didn't change anything. Luke was not a Sith. But he wasn't a Jedi either. He had only ever wanted to be a Jedi like his father, and now he hated his father.

The fact that he was trained in Sith arts didn't matter. The fact that he had adopted the name Morningstar didn't matter. The fact that he had allied himself to the Empire didn't matter. Nothing that had happened mattered, because he was doing everything for the right reasons. Luke was still a good person. He knew he was. He could turn back. Just not now.

* * *

The landspeeder cut through the still dry air with a characteristic whine. The old X-34 model stirred up a cloud of dust in its wake, as it cruised towards the outskirts of Mos Eisley. The vehicle was hardly glamorous, but the two occupants were trying to avoid attention. The ex-protocol droid and bounty hunter stayed in the shaded back streets, and left the landspeeder by a junk dealer's shop. 

Fett stepped out of the vehicle and primed his blaster rifle, as did the battle droid. Boba squinted at the light, feeling slightly naked without his helmet, but this woman had seen his distinctive armour before, and so, ironically, showing his face was the best way to stay anonymous. He stepped out into the harsh sunlight, scanning the immediate area with hawk-like eyes.

"We'll split up. You take the east route, I'll take the west."

"Excuse me, sir, but if I find Mistress Leia, should I execute her?"

"No. I want her alive."

* * *

With its characteristic screech, Vader's distinctive TIE Advanced X1 cut through the black void of space. It hadn't been hard to take it from the hangar, though the stormtroopers shooting at him had been an annoyance. It was clear that the Emperor had betrayed him. 

Vader sat in silence, using his mastery of the force to block out his own thoughts, and to numb his own pain. He had let his son fall. He was responsible. Somehow, he didn't care about the loss of power or rank or the Imperial fleet. He had always despised weaklings who hid behind their ships. He felt the same contempt for the fleet that he had expressed so concisely about the Death Star. Whether it was the blockade around Naboo, the droid armies of Grievous, or the Death Star itself, everything was insignificant next to the power of the force, and he still held that power.

Of course, even that was little consolation to him now. Suddenly, Vader's resolve was weakening, and Anakin was gaining influence inside his own mind. Vader and Anakin were suddenly free. Neither man knew what to do with this freedom, but both knew where they wanted to go.

* * *

Leia walked calmly through the crowded streets, veiling her face from the glaring sunlight with the hood of one of Obi-Wan's old robes. Her lack of clothes had necessitated the adoption of part of Obi-Wan's wardrobe, but she had also been happy to embrace the tradition of wearing a Jedi robe. The ghost strolled beside her, indifferently passing straight through the oncoming people and droids. A tiny pit droid staggered in front of them, carrying a crate that seemed comically large for the spindly robot. The only delay had been to get fresh medical supplies, as well as enough food and water. 

Leia breathed in sharply, though she wasn't sure why. Something was changing inside her, and she could sense the change more and more everyday. She didn't turn to Obi-Wan, knowing that he heard her through the force, and she spoke quietly, "Obi-Wan, I feel different…"

"How?" he replied. Leia heard his voice within her mind; it was a comforting presence that had become familiar.

"I can't explain it. I've never felt this way before. It… I can feel the force within me. I can sense myself, but… I don't know."

"That's perfectly natural. You're become attuned to an energy field you only started to perceive a month ago. It's only to be expected that you feel different; you're sensing your own presence in the force, as well as your own physical body."

"But…"

Leia didn't finish. She guessed that Obi-Wan had to be right. She walked round the next corner, and stopped suddenly, as she found herself face to face with a droid. As she moved to side to let it pass, she felt the blaster rifle as it was shoved into her chest. Moving slowly, she raised her head to see her attacker more clearly…

"Threepio?"

She instantly recognised the peculiar looking golden protocol droid in front of her, and her eyes kept flicking from the primed blaster to C3PO's simple face, as the droid swayed from side to side, with the same mincing gestures that were so familiar to her.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mistress Leia, but I will have to ask you to come with me."

Leia blinked twice, not sure what to make of this situation. People continued walking around her; intimidation and drawn blasters were clearly an expected part of Mos Eisley life. She spoke slowly, "But… you're a protocol droid."

A hint of sadness crept into Threepio's voice, "That function no longer means anything to me."

"It's the function of your true self, you've only forgotten!" Leia exclaimed, cautiously moving her right hand towards her belt.

"It is too late for me, Mistress Leia."

"Then I'm sorry, Threepio."

With a single fluid action, Leia drew, ignited, and swung her lightsabre, lopping off Threepio's arm at the shoulder, before knocking him off his feet with the force. Leia and the pit droid hurried into Docking Bay 94, as Threepio struggled to rise.

* * *

Boba Fett prowled through the streets. Nobody knew who he was without the helmet, but most could tell from the menacing way he moved that it was best to get out of his way. 

"Oh my! Master Fett!"

Boba turned, and noticed the dented frame of Threepio discarded in the sand, missing an arm. He sprinted over the battle droid, kneeling down next to it, quickly examining the damage, "Where is she?"

Threepio gestured down a shaded back street, and Fett charged after Leia, hearing the growing roar of the Falcon's engines. He lunged to his left, throwing himself through the open door to the Docking Bay, just in time to see the Falcon climbing out of sight. Boba smiled, pulling a tiny disk from his belt and hurling it at the ship's hull, before turning and going back to Threepio.

* * *

The Falcon thundered over Mos Eisley and out into space. Leia wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, and glanced over to her right; Obi-Wan stood beside her, though he was staring out into space, his face covered with concern that seemed so out of place given his normally composed and pensive countenance, "Leia, quickly." 

She turned and followed his gaze. Imperial ships.

Leia glanced back at the navicomputer; the coordinates were set, but it hadn't calculated the route yet. Accelerating at attack speed towards them was the Super Star Destroyer. She spun the Falcon, turning sharply to the right as two TIEs passed over, firing down on her. She veered back round to the left as another Star Destroyer charged straight at her from above.

"They're trying to cut us off," she muttered, weaving around another pair of TIEs. The navicomputer bleeped at her as she changed course again, dodging a bombardment from the Executor's ion cannons.

I have to find Han…

The Falcon disappeared into hyperspace.

* * *

I have to find Han…

Luke ignored the words that he sensed in Leia's mind, trying to keep control of his jealousy, and his longing for her. As the Falcon disappeared in a flash of light, he ignited his lightsabre, gripping its sleek handle tightly, attracting the attention of the entire command crew. He immediately turned it back off, staring nervously at his hand; his first reaction had been to his blade, and that scared him.

He had felt Leia's presence in the force fade away as soon as the ship had disappeared, leaving him with an empty, sickening feeling in his stomach. Luke turned to see Admiral Piett standing nearby; close enough to show respect, but far enough back to reveal his fear. Luke marched rapidly out of the bridge, calling out to the Admiral, "Prepare to send a transmission to Coruscant. I must speak with the Emperor immediately."

"Yes, Lord Skywalker, right away."

* * *

The astromech whistled as he carefully reattached Threepio's arm. The battle droid didn't respond, deliberately ignoring R2's mocking tone as they sat in silence in the Slave I. As R2D2 bleeped at C3PO once more, the golden droid interjected, "Now hang on. I think that it was quite good for my first try." R2 beeped mockingly. The battle droid slapped his counterpart, "I am quite aware that my arm came off, thank you." 

Boba strolled out of the cockpit, and looked down at Threepio, now wearing his helmet again, "How did she do this?"

"I do believe, sir, that she is a Jedi."

Boba gritted his teeth, and resisted his initial urge to shoot one of the two droids. It seemed fitting that it would be a Jedi who would cause him so many problems.

"We'll set off after them immediately."

"Excuse me, sir, but how?"

"I put a tracking device on their hull."

Fett rose to his feet, and walked back to the cockpit.

This mission just got a lot more interesting…

* * *

Leia walked cautiously through the dimly lit streets, as neon signs flickered far above her. The towering structures surrounded her, allowing Leia to see only a tiny slit of the night sky, though the planet produced too much light pollution to see the stars. The distant rumble of traffic reminded her of Coruscant. The night air wasn't cool or fresh; it seemed almost stale. Somebody had painted something on one of the buildings, but she didn't recognise the language. Leia kept her guard up, not able to shake the feeling that she was being watched. Obi-Wan led them, and she hoped that he knew what he was doing.

Obi-Wan glanced nervously around too. Though he had nothing to fear himself, he was worried about Leia safety; this was the sort of planet where any outlanders could end up dead. He was beginning to think that bringing her here had been a bad idea. He also realised that he had lied to Luke all that time ago; there was a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mos Eisley spaceport, and he had brought Leia straight to it.

Nar Shaddaa

Obi-Wan tried to make conversation to take Leia's mind off her surroundings, "It's controlled by the Hutt, but a few Rodians hold a lot of power. The whole planet is a slowly decaying urban sprawl. The Empire has no real power here, so smugglers, criminals and scavengers flock to it."

"Then why did you bring us here?"

"Because we're looking for somebody who's been all three of those things."

Obi-Wan stopped, and gestured at a staircase that led down into darkness. Leia glared at the ghost for a moment, before carefully working her way down, and feeling her way through a thin corridor, keeping her mind open to the force to guide her. She emerged into what looked like an abandoned office, with papers strewn across the floors, and dust covering every surface. The room was cold and uninviting.

Leia glanced over at Obi-Wan, wondering if this might be the wrong place, and he too was casting his eyes over the area, his serene face, as always, giving nothing away. At length, he called out, "Dex."

At once, the floor stirred, and a trapdoor slid open. Leia stepped back in fright as the top of a creased red hide appeared, followed by a pair of tiny yellow eyes, and a wide tooth-filled mouth. The alien rose slowly, and Leia noticed that he didn't seem to be looking at her, but Obi-Wan. The ghost himself met Dex's gaze with a sombre expression. The alien struggled to his feet, and hobbled forwards, clearly suffering in his old age. He paused.

"…Obi-Wan?"

The former Jedi nodded sadly. Dex put forward one of his four large arms, which passed straight through the old man, "Oh, Obi-Wan… I'm sorry, old friend."

Obi-Wan gave a strained smile in return, "It's alright, Dex."

"He… he can see you?" Leia asked.

"Friendship can create a powerful bond in the force, Leia."

Dex shuffled backwards, and collapsed onto a small bench, "I thought you were dead, old friend. I honestly lost all hope."

"I heard that you came out here after the purges. I couldn't risk revealing myself. I'm sorry."

"It's not been so bad. Let's just say that somebody with as many connections as me can provide the Empire's enemies with valuable information," said Dex slowly, flashing a grin that Leia thought looked slightly sinister, though Obi-Wan smiled back at him.

"I regret that I cannot stay, but I need you to help this girl."

For the first time, Dex actually looked at Leia, casting his eyes over her, "Very well, what can I do?"

"We're looking for an Imperial prison, Dex," replied Obi-Wan, "We know what it looks like, but we don't know where it is." Dex nodded thoughtfully, as Obi-Wan turned to Leia, "What do you remember?"

Leia hesitated and spoke slowly, unwillingly reliving the vivid memory, "It was always dark there, and there was lava… rivers of lava in canyons. And when you looked up, the stars weren't always there."

"No stars…" mused Dex, "I once heard a story from a spice smuggler who got a little… lost. He used to say that the Death Star was planned in a secret base, which was the most secure spot in the Galaxy, not just because it was a secret, but because you couldn't stumble across it if you tried." Dex laughed heartily, and then coughed for moment, "I heard they used this same base to house the most important prisoners that they had. What do you know about the Maw?"

"The black hole cluster near Kessel?" asked Leia.

"Yes. But what if there was something inside it? Not much light would get in there, I'd wager."

"That's impossible," answered Leia, shaking her head.

"Not if you know the route in."

"A Jedi could get through, even without knowing the way," said Obi-Wan.

"I take it you're going then?" asked Dex.

Obi-Wan nodded, "Thank you, Dex, and good luck." He then turned and walked out, leaving Leia behind him, who chased after the ghost as they emerged back into the street, leaving Dex in his small basement.

Leia jogged up behind Obi-Wan, and instinctively but futilely reached out to touch his shoulder, but the gesture got his attention, and he stopped. Leia noticed that his composed expression looked so strained, and she spoke comfortingly, "You don't have to go right away. You should go and talk to your friend. At least say goodbye to him. I'll go on to Kessel, and you can come to me later."

Obi-Wan breathed deeply, "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't let attachment interfere with my duty." The pair stood in silence, and Leia for the first time pitied Obi-Wan, and the Code that he forced himself to live by. He broke the silence, "We should go."


	16. Into the Fire

Hello all, and sorry I'm a week late; I'll make it up to you at some point, I promise! Anyway, thank you to all you wonderful happy people who review, and may the force be with you, and buy you orange juice. Yes.

All the best, Jon

Even as they sat in their cell, Han and Chewie could hear the distant rumbling, and the hiss of pressure being released; the same signs that always preceded the dazzling jade lights on the horizon. Two stormtroopers entered in silence and raised their weapons. Han and Chewie had been expecting them, and the smuggler had told his companion about the Imperial's threat. That night, Han would be executed.

As the guards opened the cell door and gestured for Han to stand up, Chewie roared, but Han shook his head at the Wookiee, solemn and unwavering.

"Tell Leia that I'm sorry, Chewie."

The stormtrooper roughly pushed Han against the wall, binding his hands with restraints.

"You hold on, you hear me? The kid's gonna be here soon, and you're gonna get out of here. Be happy for them, ok? Tell them I wanted them to be happy."

The stormtroopers shoved Han out of the cell, and towards a waiting transport rail system.

"Rawwwwwwwrr!"

"I know," Han replied dejectedly.

The door slammed shut behind Han, and Chewie whimpered softly, resting his head against the bars.

* * *

An overwhelming volley of fire tore apart another tiny probe droid, as the Falcon cautiously meandered through the dense asteroid field. Leia wasn't sure why the Empire had even bothered to send out probe droids; they would never sense anything with all the interference, not even at close range, and most would get destroyed anyway. The question of who would give such an order worried Leia… 

"Do you honestly think that we can get through into the Maw? We don't know the safe route."

Obi-Wan met her gaze steadily, "The force will guide us. Feel, don't think."

"But what if-"

"Don't focus on your anxieties."

Leia didn't reply. She knew Obi-Wan was wise, and she had no doubt that he had been a great Jedi Knight in his day. However, she couldn't help but feel that he wasn't always in fact that useful to her. Leia had been forced to take many risks, and she had learnt many skills without any examples from her mentor. She had, obviously, never seen him use a lightsabre. Hearing his profound utterances could only do so much good.

One thing was clear to Leia; in a short while, she would have to storm an Imperial outpost, and she would have to do all the work alone. Obi-Wan was, quite simply, all words, and no action.

She breathed out as she passed through the final stages of the asteroid field, and saw the bizarre image of space stretching out in front of her, but without the omnipresent stars. The gravitational readings confirmed it; they were looking at the densest black hole cluster in the Galaxy. In the centre of it, quite possibly, was the most restricted and secure prison facility in the Outer Rim. And in the most secure wing of the facility, suffering, was Han.

Great

She had no choice.

The Falcon crawled forwards, as its engines roared. Leia closed her eyes, and trusted in the force.

* * *

The heavy blaster cannons of the Slave I tore through the asteroid field without difficulty, as the scanners stayed focused on the homing beacon on the Falcon's hull. 

"Excuse me, sir," politely interjected Threepio, "But how exactly are we going to get through the black hole cluster ourselves?"

Fett didn't reply, but drew a tiny disk from his belt and slotted it into the control panel. With an affirmative whistle, a detailed flight course was projected into the air. Fett didn't bother to explain the origin of this information to the droids, but, during his brief period in command of the Imperial Fleet while capturing Solo, he had taken the opportunity to make a copy of the Empire's files on secret facilities; many people would pay a lot of money for that information.

R2 whistled, sounding panicked. Fett glanced at Threepio, who translated, "He says that a large number of cruisers have entered the system, and are heading towards the Maw."

"The Empire wants her as well?" Fett paused for a moment, "… I think it's time to call in reinforcements."

Again without any further explanation, Boba set his communication equipment to a single frequency, and began to send out a transmission.

* * *

Luke appraised his surroundings distantly. He could hear various Imperials nervously exchanging bleak estimates about the damage that the fleet would sustain by just moving through the asteroid field itself. He shook his head at the short-sighted cowardice that surrounded him. Asteroids did not concern him; he wanted Leia. 

Inside the black hole cluster, just as the Emperor had told him, was the Maw research facility, and all the Star Destroyers knew the single safe passage through the abyss of darkness.

Luke turned, and watched Piett muttering quietly to his lieutenant. Luke didn't trust any of them.

"Admiral."

"Yes, Lord Skywalker?"

"Prepare a shuttle; I will deal with this myself."

"But, my lord, what about-"

"Proceed into the Maw as soon as you can. I will go ahead of you, and capture our target."

Piett saluted, and walked away, barking orders at his technicians. Luke walked calmly towards the shuttle bay. He reassured himself that what he was doing was right, because he was doing it for the right reasons. For him and Leia. For love. And he would achieve his goal more efficiently alone.

The power of this fleet is insignificant next to the power of the force…

He told himself that he could turn his back on the Empire any time he wanted. Just not now.

* * *

Han squinted at the blinding lights as his eyes struggled to adapt from the dim hallways of the Central Research Area. He struggled against the stormtroopers who were binding his hands and legs, though it was more of a token defiant effort than an actual escape attempt; he was weak and outnumbered. It felt like he was strapped to a vertical slab of concrete. 

As the stormtroopers rapidly walked away from him, the outlines of his surroundings began to come into focus. He was on the raised pedestal, in the very centre of concrete pit. The flat expanse of grey stretched out in every direction. In fact, he was in a long stone trench, as the walls either side of him were far closer to him than the one directly facing him. Powerful searchlights converged on him, mounted on the top of the trench's walls.

All the time twisting his wrists, checking the strength of his restraints, always looking for a last minute escape method, he squinted at the huge structure in front of him.

Then it came into focus. And at that exact moment, Han knew that he was going to die.

Looming over him, facing him, like a whale charging at a tiny fish, carved into the grey edifice, was a colossal circular alcove. It was a superlaser. The Empire had built a weapon capable of destroying a planet, and they were going to use it on one man.

Han looked above the superlaser, and saw a series of windows. He wasn't sure who was in the command centre, but he could make a good guess.

"Captain Solo!" The Imperial's fast paced frantic voice boomed over an announcement system, "You killed my child. I trust you appreciate the poetic justice that will accompany your own death. Just in case you were entertaining any hope, Captain Solo, I want you to know something. Once the charging sequence begins, it cannot be stopped. There is no disarm code. Destroying the controls will do nothing. The firing sequence cannot be aborted. The Reaper cannot be denied."

With a crackle, the voice faded away, and was replaced by a high pitched whine. The charging sequence had begun, and nothing in the Galaxy could stop it.

* * *

Private TY-724, his superior rank identified by marks on his shoulder plate, sat in silence. He stared off into space, tapping his finger against the side of his blaster. Normally he had company in the prison security centre, but tonight security had mainly been diverted to the Central Research Area . He guessed that there was an important experiment there; they always grounded the entire TIE fleet on the nights of experiments, due to electromagnetic interference. As he slowly passed his gaze over the room, his eyes were momentarily drawn to an energy signature scanner. 

He rose and stretched, strolling over to examine the faint readings. He yawned; his shift would soon be over. A faint energy trace appeared on the readout. It could have been anything; a TIE doing a last minute sweep, a walker, even just a glitch in the system. He was tempted to ignore it, but, he considered, procedures were there for a reason.

He wandered to the window, overlooking a small hangar of AT-ST walkers, and flicked a switch next to a transceiver.

"GR-834 and 835, take a walker out over the south ridge and look for any suspicious activity."

Two regular stormtroopers appeared from an adjacent room, waved in acknowledgement, and climbed up into the cockpit.

* * *

The Falcon soared close to the ground, kicking up a storm of fine black dust behind it, trying to avoid detection. Leia guessed that security in a place like this would be focussed on stopping people from getting out, and not on watching for attacking forces. The Falcon touched down gently, hidden inside a valley, and Leia immediately cut the power to keep them hidden. 

Completely veiled in her brown robe, she walked down the Falcon's landing ramp and took in the desolate landscape around her.

"They've probably spotted us," said Obi-Wan straightforwardly, his face not giving any emotions away.

"Don't worry," replied Leia without hesitation, "I have an idea."

* * *

TY-724 watched the AT-ST lumber back into the hangar, and descended in a small lift to receive the report. The walker stopped in its docking position, and a couple of troops brought over a support frame, to allow the pilots to disembark. A single trooper unfastened the top hatch from outside, and glanced down into the cockpit. 

He frowned, as he saw a bizarre green glow glowing inside…

Leia leapt up, instantly using the force to push three of the troopers off the support frame and into the wall behind it, knocking them unconscious. As the remainder drew their weapons and fired, she threw herself down from the walker, literally falling out of her Jedi robe, and leaving it fluttering through the air above her. The stormtroopers missed their mark, foolishly continuing to aim at the robe in their confusion.

Leia landed and immediately rolled forwards with cat-like grace, scything one stormtrooper's weapon in half before delivering a vicious kick to his chest. Diving behind a supply crate for cover, she held her blade defensively, spinning it overhand to deflect a blaster shot. Moving out into the open, she ran between her assailants, disarming each one, avoiding delivering a fatal wound when she could. With a swipe through one stormtrooper's wrist, she flicked round and thrust forwards, causing a blaster shot to ricochet back at the final soldier left.

"Good work," Obi-Wan commented sincerely.

Leia rushed at the security door, and demolished it with four glancing swipes from her lightsabre, before proceeding carefully into the prison.

"Rawwr!"

"Chewie!" Leia exclaimed, slicing through the locking mechanism, "Where's Han? And why was it so quiet here?"

Chewie replied with a series of grunts. Leia's understanding of his dialect was far from perfect, but she had picked up a lot on Hoth. She was briefly taken aback by how the Wookiee looked; his fur was matted, and it had lost its shine. His eyes seemed dim too, and he was clearly weak.

"The Central Research Area? That's where Han is? And the security forces?"

Chewie roared in confirmation.

"How can I get there?"

This isn't going to be easy…

Another series of sounds followed

"The rail transport? Chewie, the Falcon's just to the south of here. Get back to it and take off. Be ready to move in and pick up me and Han as soon as I've got him, ok?"

The pair rushed back into the hangar, Leia towards a waiting railcar outside, and Chewie towards the walker. Chewie made a low groaning whimper.

"Han's going to be fine, Chewie."

Chewie gripped Leia in a tight embrace, before rushing up into the walker. Leia climbed into the cramped transport and set it to full speed.

* * *

The Slave I, not bothering with the subtleties of Leia's entrance, roared over the landscape, scanning for bases and potential hostile forces. Suddenly, he caught sight of a small outpost, which a walker and a tiny transport had just departed from. Boba brought the ship to a stop, hovering just over the open hangar entrance, and ordered R2 to keep it there. He leapt down from the mid-air landing ramp, and charged in, twin blaster pistols raised. 

Then he froze.

Somebody had got here first; the troops were already taken care of. He examined the nearest body, which was missing its right arm from the elbow, and clenched his fist. It was a clean cut, and a cauterised wound; a lightsabre had done this. He quickly checked the pulse. The trooper was badly wounded, but alive; another sign that the Jedi was involved, and that he had missed her again. He slammed his hand against the ground, refusing to let his anger endanger the mission.

An Imperial private stirred nearby, making a low pained groan. Boba Fett walked over, his sharp footsteps the only noise in the hangar. He picked up the Imperial by the neck and examined him; a single blaster wound to the chest. Fett coldly pressed the wound, causing the stormtrooper to scream in agony.

"Who did this?"

"A… A girl, a girl with a lightsabre."

Fett relaxed the pressure on the man's wound.

"And where was she going?"

"I don't know."

Fett pressed harder; he knew the intricacies of torture.

"Where is she going?"

"The transports all lead to the Central Research Area. It's to the west of here. They're executing one of the prisoners tonight…" whimpered the private.

Fett threw him roughly to the ground and walked away.

"Please," murmured the injured stormtrooper after him, "Please help me…"

Fett drew a pistol and fired. Putting the man out of his misery was a favour he would not normally have granted, but it hardly wasted any time.

With a blast from his jetpack, Boba was once more on the landing ramp of the Slave I. He marched into the cockpit, where R2 was plugged into the control console, and C3PO was loading a blaster rifle,

"Head west. We should get there before she does, and then we'll have her right where we want her…"

* * *

Bodies littered the platform, as more troops poured out of the security centres. Leia, forced to defend herself, had no choice but to move with ruthless efficiency around the platform, dispatching her adversaries in any way she could. Suddenly in a real combat situation, she was learning lightsabre techniques faster than she had done over the last entire week, out of a mixture of practice and necessity. 

She stood warily, her legs bent, ready to move, blocking badly aimed fire, moving when she needed to, and cutting down the troops in her way.

"Leia! Behind you!"

Leia reacted instantly to Obi-Wan's warning, bringing her blade over her head, and powerfully sweeping down on the stormtrooper who had just appeared behind her. Continuing the flowing motion, she turned back, spinning her lightsabre in front of her, and knocking down two troops, before leaping to her right, and hacking through the armour of another two.

She glanced around; only two more. Pulling a blaster to her hand through the force, she fired two shots, leaving the platform in motionless silence.

"This way," called Obi-Wan, who had briefly disappeared to scout ahead.

Leia followed, turning off her lightsabre, before looking back, sickened at the carnage on the platform. She looked desperately to Obi-Wan, trying to find a justification for what she had done, hoping that he had the answers that made everything alright.

He met her gaze, but could only reply, "It was easier in the Clone Wars, when it was just droids. It's best not to think about it."

Leia didn't find much comfort in his words as they moved through the outer security area. She had tried to use a Jedi mind trick and sneak through, but there had been too many of them.

She emerged into an open courtyard, presumably a security checkpoint suitable for shuttles to drop off supplies. She hesitated for a moment, and glanced around. She had the strangest feeling…

She flung herself to her right, just as something slammed into the ground, exactly where she had been standing. She landed roughly, and rolled over, to see what looked like a grappling hook embedded in the ground, attached to a length of rope. She glanced up, following the rope to its source as it fell loose, and she saw a single figure blast into the sky with a flash of light and fall gracefully, a blaster pistol drawn in each hand.

Leia controlled her fear, and her hand went for her lightsabre.

It wasn't there.

She glanced around, suddenly feeling exposed without it, and saw it a few feet to her left; it must have come off when she fell. Just as she moved to retrieve it, the single figure crashed down right in front of her, far closer than she'd been expecting, pointing both weapons directly at her.

There was no time to reclaim her lightsabre.

Leia was completely at the mercy of Boba Fett.


	17. Moving On

Hey all, and welcome back to Always Emotion is the Future. Thanks to all my reviewers, as you guys rock, officially, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

All the best, Jon

The TIE X1 Advanced sat in space, rotating silently. Seeing a ship so notorious helplessly drifting wherever gravity took it was a strange sight. Vader breathed quietly, emotions he had long since forced into submission slowly waking up. He hadn't been ready for the pain.

When she had died, he hadn't been able to do anything. Just a long resounding scream. And when he couldn't scream anymore, she was still dead. That was when he had stopped feeling.

He had the face his demons. The engines screamed into life.

* * *

Leia stood on the landing platform, staying perfectly still, her eyes darting from the fearsome figure of the bounty hunter to the lightsabre lying on the ground near her. He was standing so close that he couldn't miss a shot. Her eyes were drawn to his hands; both were perfectly steady, despite the weight of his armour and pistols. Finally, she looked over to Obi-Wan, who met her gaze with a helpless desperation. 

She tensed her muscles, ready to move, as she saw his fingers squeeze the triggers slightly more firmly. She didn't know what she was going to do. Fett himself took half a step forwards, his helmet veiling where his eyes were focused.

"Get down."

Leia didn't bother to question the firm command, but dropped to the ground immediately, keeping her eyes on the bounty hunter. He launched a single volley of blaster fire, stepping forwards without any hurry or sluggishness, as if he was so well-practised that he could move and fire without even thinking. Leia rolled over, just in time to see both stormtroopers, who clearly would have ambushed her, slump to the ground, both of them assailed by precise blows to the chest.

Leia guardedly began to ask, "Why did-"

"Quiet."

Boba casually stepped over the top of Leia's body, scanning the area and blasting another two soldiers who Leia hadn't seen in the shadows. Satisfied that the area was safe, he kicked her lightsabre over to her. Leia could have sworn that she heard a muffled disdainful sneer as he did so.

Leia instantly ignited her blade, leaping to her feet as Boba Fett walked back towards her, and pointing it at him aggressively, "I want answers. What are you doing here?"

Boba Fett, making a point of not answering , sauntered straight past her, well within lightsabre range. He pulled a small hexagonal piece of metal from a concealed compartment in his armour and offhandedly threw it over his shoulder. Leia caught it, and flicked the tiny switch on one of the sides.

With a flicker of blue light, the blurred form of a man she had never seen before appeared in front of her and bowed courteously.

"Greetings princess, my name is Lando. I'm an old friend of Han, and the administrator of the Bespin facility. I apologise that I was unable to be more help at that point, but the city was seized by force, and there was little I could do. By the time you receive this message, I will have fled Cloud City, and, hopefully, made contact with the Rebel Alliance. To make amends for the events of Bespin, I have hired the services of this bounty hunter. He is being paid well, so his loyalty is guaranteed. I hope that, with the bounty hunter's help, you are able to escape the Empire's pursuit and rejoin the Rebel Fleet. Good luck."

Lando bowed again and the image faded away. Leia watched Fett, who had holstered his blaster pistols, and stood nearby, unarmed, and yet still intimidating.

"You were trying to kill me before."

"That would now be unprofitable. I was only trying to sell you into slavery."

Leia shuddered at the cold objectivity of his voice.

"So, on Bespin-"

"On Bespin, I was being paid by the Empire for your capture. After Vader caught Skywalker, you were given to me as a part of my fee. After you left me on Lok to die, I had every intention of hunting you down to reclaim your ship, but then a new employer approached me," he said, gesturing at the item in Leia's hand, "He was willing to pay much more for your protection than the ship was worth. When we encountered each other on Tatooine, I was trying to escort you back to the Rebel Alliance."

"You don't have the best people skills."

Boba Fett ignored the comment, "My employer provided me with the frequency to contact Rogue Squadron. They'll be able to provide cover for your escape. And now it's time for you to leave. It's dangerous here."

"You're being paid to take me back to the Rebels?"

There was a brief pause, in which Leia got the impression that Fett was scowling.

"No. My employer made it quite clear that I am to protect you, and nothing more. If you choose to remain here, then so will I, but I strongly suggest that you leave."

"I'm rescuing Han," Leia replied, "And so are you."

Boba didn't reply, but the irony that it was his own actions that had led to Han's capture was not wasted on the bounty hunter.

* * *

Wedge's X-wing dropped out of hyperspace, and was immediately faced with the threat of an asteroid field. Followed by the rest of Red Squadron, the nimble starfighters effortlessly snaked through the dangerous area of space. An R5 unit whistled at Wedge as a readout of the area appeared on his scanners. 

"Red 7."

"Copy, Red Leader."

"Take your squad ahead and attack the first Star Destroyer. Don't let any Imperial ship enter the black hole cluster."

Veiled from Imperial sensors by the asteroids, the fighters swarmed over the rear Star Destroyer. Blaster cannons and proton torpedoes slammed into the craft, crippling it completely before it could launch any TIEs. Shards of twisted metal and shattered stone shot out in every direction and ricocheted off each other, throwing Imperials and Rebels alike into confusion. Wedge's ship spun away, flashes of light and the hammering crack of blaster fire all around him. As the first Imperial cruiser, now unshielded, was literally smashed into pieces by asteroid collisions, the other Star Destroyers immediately deployed TIE fighters into the asteroid field.

The battle for the Maw had begun.

* * *

Obi-Wan watched the pair moving in perfect co-ordination. Leia and Fett stood with their backs pressed against each other; the Jedi deflecting blaster fire away and the bounty hunter firing back at their attackers. 

The ghost stayed back, and noticed that he hadn't spoken to Leia for some time. Equally, Leia hadn't looked to him for guidance.

Obi-Wan had disliked Jango immensely. There were many things in the Galaxy that the Jedi had frowned upon, but bounty hunters, for their greed and merciless nature, were a particularly uncivilised sort. Obi-Wan had even met Boba before. It was a long time ago, but those years were permanently etched in the Jedi Master's memory. Boba had been a young boy, with inquisitive eyes and long curly hair. And now he was a vicious remorseless killer.

And yet, for all that Obi-Wan disliked Fett, the bounty hunter was more useful and reliable than Obi-Wan could ever be.

Obi-Wan wondered why he had cheated death. Why, when Vader's blade moved against him, had he smiled? Why had he thought that his useless half-life, able to see those around him suffer and die, but powerless to help, could ever be a good thing? Leia didn't need a father figure now. Obi-Wan did the only thing that he could.

He faded away quietly. Leia didn't even notice.

* * *

A quick flick of the hand brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. A volley smashed into the ground next to her feet. Instinctively, the pair rotated around each other, Leia bringing her blade around to knock away two blaster shots, and Boba Fett nailing the Imperial sniper. 

Six more soldiers ran in, guns blazing. That was too many, and they both knew it. A single glance up to the thin walkway that the sniper had just attacked them from, and a conspiratorial nod.

Boba's jetpack threw him violently upwards, bringing him down heavily on the metal walkway. Leia leapt gracefully beside him, and both redrew their weapons as the relentless fire followed them, blasting out chunks of metal from beneath them. As they sprinted, they saw a small hatch in the wall in front of them.

Leia raised a hand, and the door buckled, falling inwards. Boba couldn't help but clench his fist. He hated Jedi for that exact reason. For his whole life, he had struggled against every adversity. Jedi were born with gifts that made them special, and powerful. But Jedi did nothing to deserve their power. They were just born with it. Maybe it was jealousy, but he didn't care.

The pair burst through the gaping hole, and the world was silent and black. Lit only by the faint glow of Leia's lightsabre, they moved cautiously forwards, ever progressing towards Han's fear, which Leia could sense.

* * *

He marched purposefully over the grey stone path, his cape swishing over the small walls of the stone terrace. He reached the balcony and walked to the very centre, pausing momentarily to take in the scene. 

The pause lingered.

It wasn't what Vader remembered. There had been white blossom. He remembered that well; it had been the same pure white as her dress. The gnarled vines strangled the frame above him, long since dead. He wondered if this place had been abandoned, or just left alone as a mark of respect for her. Everywhere he looked, the walls showed the signs of age and neglect.

He turned away from it all and gazed over the still waters. They glimmered silently in the afternoon sun, but he couldn't see the brilliant blue. His visor presented the lake to him in a tone of harsh red.

A sudden urge of resolve.

He clawed at his mask, tearing at its locking mechanism with all his strength, and all the frenzy of a madman. A long hiss broke the silence as air reached his skin for the first time in two decades and entered his scorched lungs.

He screamed, sealing himself away from the world again.

He fell to the ground, lying motionless on his back, too miserable to live, too scared to die.

And yet, he felt something. Behind the pain and screaming grief, there was something in his mind. He didn't know what it was, but it was there. He let it grow, exploring his feelings with the innocent curiosity of a child.

Vader lay there. For the first time since the dark times began, he was healing.

* * *

Though they tried to proceed quietly, their footsteps faintly echoed through the cavernous halls. Leia glanced around, scanning for enemies. She was in what appeared to be a series of natural caverns, which had been converted into a research area; the walls and ceiling were both natural smooth rock formations. They carefully crept over a wide walkway, which was the only floor. Leia was careful not to look down through the many small gaps; beneath them was a pool of stagnant lava, which was also the only source of light. 

The whole complex seemed to be a subterranean labyrinth, but Leia was confident that she was heading outwards by following the faint draft that wafted through the cave system.

Suddenly, she saw it. The night sky, even without its stars, seemed beautiful to her as she rushed out onto a viewing platform.

She didn't need to scan the area. She could sense him.

In long grey trench that she was overlooking, bound to a concrete pillar, was Han.

A dull hiss cut through the night air. An Imperial shuttle was landing nearby.

"Reinforcements," muttered Leia.

"Go," stated the bounty hunter, "I'll hold them off."

The pair separated without another word, as Leia threw herself over the edge of the trench and landed running, while Boba drew two blaster pistols and dashed from one piece of cover to another as he approached the shuttle.

* * *

Luke walked down the shuttle's entry ramp alone. He could sense her, and he wouldn't let anything stand in his way. 

So close…

* * *

Han stood limply, letting the restraints dig into his skin. He didn't care. This wasn't how he thought he was going to die. Helpless. He could hear the superlaser charging, just as he had heard it before. He didn't need to look up. He knew that it would fire in under a minute now.

An echoing clatter.

He raised his bleary eyes, struggling to focus on account of his weakness.

Leia…

But dressed differently…

And with Luke's light sword thing…

Except it's green…

Great, I've lost it completely

He let his head drop again. If he was going to die, it was going to be with dignity, and not screaming for some illusion to help him.

A light touch.

His raised his head slowly, as if scared that he might lose the feeling of human contact. The gentle touch of her fingers sent warmth into his cheek. He looked up with his eyes, still keeping his head down. Her eyes. His jaw trembled, as he felt the touch of the girl he never thought he'd see again.

"Leia," he gasped desperately, lunging forwards against his restraints, distractedly trying to kiss her.

Leia pulled away and lowered her eyes for a moment. She loved Luke. She couldn't ever be with Han. If she had never met Luke, then she didn't know what might have happened, but she couldn't think about that now.

"Shhh," she whispered soothingly, "I have to get you out of here."

With a few sweeps of a lightsabre, Han was free. He collapsed at once, unable to stand under his own power.

"It's… It's too late… the weapon's going to fire… Leia, get out of here."

"I've got to save you."

"You can't. Save yourself."

Leia went over the options. She had time to get back out of the trench, but not if she had to help Han too.

She had to make a decision, about Han's life, and her own, and in the next few seconds.

3…

2…

1…

* * *

Hey all,

Well look at that, a second author's note had moved down here. Here's a new feature; next chapter, Luke and Boba have a tense reunion after their meeting on Bespin, and Leia makes a decision that changes everything. Hope you're looking forward to it,

Jon


	18. Crucial Moments

Hey all, and welcome back!

Right, I know I always ask anyway, but today it's especially important; please review, because I really want to get up to 100 reviews, which has never happened to me before, and would make me disturbingly happy. Sorry about the delay this week, but I've been working on A Jedi Shall Not (which, you know, you could go and glance at… ok, I'll stop advertising now).

All the best, Jon

* * *

Leia stood motionless, not even daring to move, facing off against the most powerful weapon in the Galaxy. She realised that it was already too late to run away. Somehow, it had never even crossed her mind to leave Han there. If he was going to die, then she would die with him. She kept standing there, fully aware that she had no way to stop the superlaser.

Obi-Wan watched her, keeping himself hidden from view. She reminded him so much of Luke, heading into the Death Star's prison level to rescue the Princess without any plan. However, the force could help her, and he knew it. He couldn't believe that he was honestly about to say what he was planning to reveal to her.

He had heard the words from half way across the Galaxy so long ago, and he had shivered at the sentiment behind them. And now those same words were the only hope to save Leia's life. He remained hidden, appearing close behind her.

"The power to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the force."

Power. That was all Vader had ever wanted from the force. And yet, for all the horrific things Vader had done, Obi-Wan knew that he was right; the force was potentially a source of power. Obi-Wan just prayed that Leia would use that power for good, unlike her father.

Leia face showed a new resolve. She raised her right hand against the weapon and waited. Her hair blew back against the blasts of heat. A flash of green light appeared at the very centre of the weapon.

Then it fired.

The noise roared through the trench, thundering as if it alone could destroy worlds. The jade brilliance was everywhere, burning and seething, pure energy, razing everything before it. The heat felt as if it burnt Leia's eyes and skin, as if her ears would burst, her eyes would be crushed, her entirety wiped out of existence.

Though she couldn't see it, the superlaser had been literally torn apart by the force. The weapon had been parted, and had fired around the outside of Leia and Han. Driven back by the power of the blast, she staggered backwards, desperately calling on the force for aid, as she felt weaker every second. It wasn't enough. The superlaser was going to overwhelm her.

* * *

Boba sprinted between rocks, diving in and out of cover with cat-like grace and agility. He couldn't see any Imperial troops at all, but the shuttle had brought something. He listened carefully, but couldn't hear anything. 

Wait…

A single robed figure was walking towards the trench. He paused. Boba silently drew a blaster rifle from his armour and prepared to make the single shot he would need.

"Bounty hunter."

The voice wasn't shouting, but merely speaking just loudly enough for Fett to hear it, and, if Boba was right, it was speaking in his direction. He cautiously peered out from his hiding place, keeping in the shadows so that the figure couldn't see that he had shown himself.

The man had taken off his long black robe, and was steadily meeting Boba's gaze, smiling disquietingly. He spoke again, "I wasn't expecting to find you here, but I appreciate having the opportunity to meet you again."

Boba gasped. It was the same boy that he had captured on Bespin, but he had changed so much in only a month. His face looked more severe, and his eyes were lined with shadows, as if he hadn't slept for some time.

Luke ignited his lightsabre, illuminating his own face with a harsh red glow. Luke instantly knew that Boba was here to protect Leia, as the bounty hunter lacked any mental shields. Either way, Luke wasn't exactly reluctant to deal with the bounty hunter who had taken Leia away from him in the first place.

The pair both stepped purposefully to their left, circling around each other, slowly moving together, Fett holding both blaster pistols in his hands, Luke holding his lightsabre.

Both were thrown off their feet as the superlaser fired without warning. Staggering as the ground shifted, kicking up waves of dirt and showers of pebbles, Luke lurched towards Boba, swinging wildly, but not getting close to him. The bounty hunter focussed on keeping his balance, gracefully leaping away from Luke.

The pair froze as the ground cracked around them, opening up fissure behind both Luke and Boba. The piece of rock they were both standing on tilted and shook, literally sinking into the ground, effectively trapping the combatants in a deep pit.

Luke charged again, but Fett fired his jetpack, soaring over Luke's head and landing on the far side of the small sheer-walled crater. He turned and fired, but Luke effortlessly deflected the volley, forcing Boba to dive to his right to avoid his own blaster fire.

Suddenly, the ground cracked again. One of the pit's walls just crumbled away, revealing the fearsome sight of a lava river. With a jolt, the entire floor of the pit collapsed, falling a short distance into the lava, forcing the pair closer together as their small island sank into the molten rock. The island, they realised, was literally floating down a lava-filled trench.

Luke was again the first to recover from the shock, using his Jedi reflexes to seize the centre of the island, cornering the bounty hunter. Boba stayed still, the rock behind him disappearing into the lava, and the Jedi in front of him advancing with a lightsabre. Without any hesitation, he pressed down on a small concealed switch in his wrist plate. His jetpack emitted a weak spluttering noise.

Overheated. Damn

Faced with no other alternative, he threw himself towards the Jedi. Luke lashed out with a vicious horizontal blow, aiming to take off the bounty hunter's head, but Boba saw it coming and ducked under the blow, tackling him and knocking them both to the ground, leaving them lying close to the lava, which was consuming the island more quickly now. Boba glanced down the trench. The lava flowed down into another trench. He didn't know how deep the second trench was, but seismic activity could make canyons several miles deep. Either way, he had to be off this platform by the time it reached the end of the trench.

Catching sight of Luke reclaiming his lightsabre, Boba leapt at him, pinning the Jedi to the ground. As Luke struggled against Boba's well-practised restraining technique, the rock around them fell away, leaving them even closer to the lava. The lightsabre flew to Luke's hand, called by the force, but he couldn't direct it while pinned. Fett seized Luke's wrist and slammed his hand into the rock. Luke screamed, and his hand opened on reflex, droppingthe tip of his lightsabre's handle into the lava, leaving it useless.

At the last second, both men rolled away from the edge, just as a large chunk of rock, which they had both been wrestling on moments before, broke off and was instantly swallowed by the magma. Both men leapt up, circling each other, ready to fight unarmed; Boba had lost his pistols to the lava during the struggle. The bounty hunter saw that they were on the very edge of the canyon. It was too deep to see the bottom, despite the glow that the lava would be making there. The island had become caught on something under the lava, keeping it balanced precariously at the very rim of the chasm.

Assuming that he would have the best of an unarmed fight, Fett stepped forwards and threw his right fist at Luke with all of his weight behind it.

But the punch never touched Luke. In fact, Fett froze in the middle of the swing, completely unable to move, or even breath. As he thrashed feebly, feeling like he was bound by restraints all over his body, he rose unwillingly off the ground. Luke stepped towards the very edge, despite the swaying of the unstable island, keeping Boba suspended ahead of him, until the bounty hunter was hanging over the bottomless abyss. Fett pushed a tiny button on the inside of his wrist plate, but nothing happened.

"Your jetpack won't save you this time," commented Luke dryly, before letting the bounty hunter drop into the darkness. The Jedi leapt out of the trench with the aid of the force, and seconds later, the island was torn apart, and it fell after Boba into the ravine.

* * *

Leia's mind spun, her body exhausted, screaming in pain, out of all reserves of energy. With her final moments of life, she called out desperately, "Obi-Wan…" 

In the very centre of the intense green light, a pristine figure stood, watching everything calmly through the noise and heat. A single tear wet his cheek. He had known it would come to this. Leia hadn't been ready to face the Empire, but she had chosen to follow her friend into a trap.

There was another way, but he wasn't willing to allow it to come to pass. Leia's death, as much as it hurt him, was the better option.

Suddenly, a memory presented itself.

So many years ago. He was in a hospital. Padmé was gasping for air, dying of something medicine couldn't treat. Leia's tiny form. Nobody had said it, but Obi-Wan knew that Padmé last distressed gaze into his eyes had been an unspoken promise between them. It was Obi-Wan's duty to protect her, no matter what the cost.

"Leia!" he called out, "You have to use your anger."

He shuddered at what he had just said to her. Even after Anakin and Luke, he hadn't learnt. And yet Leia was the last hope, and she had to survive. To survive, she needed more power. And, as Obi-Wan had learnt from Anakin, anger could give you power.

Leia took a single determined step forwards, pushing her hand forwards, gritting her teeth, her hard face showing a grim determination, opening her eyes against the intense blasts of air, focusing on everything the Empire had done for her. With a long resounding scream, which could be heard over the weapon, she focused everything on the force, hurling the energy straight back at the weapon itself.

With a final blaze of light and a shower of tiny fragments of stone, the superlaser disappeared.

Suddenly there was silence.

Leia stared through wide-open eyes into middle distance, seeing nothing but the green blur that was burnt onto the back of her eyes. Her struggled to breathe through her parched throat. As her vision came back to her, she glanced down without thinking; her mind was exhausted. Her body swayed. She noticed her right hand was still raised, and she couldn't lower it. Paralysis gripped her totally, and she felt nothing but the searing pain of icy daggers being thrust into her.

Leia!

She couldn't hear Obi-Wan's words as her ears rang with a high-pitched howl, but she sensed him through the force.

Leia!

She realised that she had fallen over. She hadn't felt the impact against the ground. Obi-Wan's face appeared in front of her, glowing like an angel.

"I'm sorry," she whispered at him, not knowing whether she was able to speak. Somewhere it her mind, she knew that using her anger had been wrong. The feeling had scared her. She felt the last threads of consciousness slip away from her. "I'm sorry…"

Darkness.

* * *

A minute later, the Slave I roared out of the perfect darkness of a huge chasm. Boba Fett, badly bruised and completely exhausted, was slumped in the cargo bay. As he pulled his helmet off, Threepio emerged from the cockpit. 

"What took you so long?" spat the bounty hunter; he had been within fifty metres of the lava when the Slave I had swooped in, catching him in the cargo bay. It hadn't been the gentlest landing, he considered, but it was certainly preferable to hitting the molten rock.

"I'm ever so sorry, sir, but you did leave it rather late to activate your homing beacon," pointed out Threepio with a tone that was half apologetic and half admonishing. Luke hadn't realised it, but Fett's last action hadn't been to try his jetpack again, but to activate his homing beacon, allowing R2D2 and C3PO to rescue him.

"Come on," said Boba gruffly, "We still have work to do."

* * *

Han staggered through the grey stone wasteland, wandering around the huge piles of rubble and twisted metal, his face lit by flickering fire. He didn't know what Leia had done, or how, but it had destroyed everything around her. The superlaser, along with the entire trench, had simply been obliterated. 

The smuggler held her in his arms. Leia's entire body had entered a state of shock; her limbs were stiff and her breathing was fast and shallow, but, crucially, she was alive.

He stopped abruptly, quietly crouching down behind a pile of stone fragments. He could hear footsteps, slowly walking through the maze-like area that the scattered wreckage had created. The footsteps were slow and deliberate, as if whoever it was knew exactly where he was going.

Keeping hold of Leia at all times, his gaze lingering for a moment on her fragile body, he leaned out to survey who was there. His hand instinctively reached for his blaster, even though it had been confiscated a month ago by the Imperials.

"Luke," he called out, a great wave of relief washing over him as he saw his old friend. Clearly, Luke and Leia had come to rescue him.

Luke stopped in the middle of a step forwards. His eyes were fixed on Leia's body, which was covered in dirt, a scar running down her right cheek, her clothes torn in places, her right hand blistered and burnt from the superlaser. Luke's jaw trembled for a moment, then he gritted his teeth, taking fast irregular breaths, and raised his eyes to Han and Obi-Wan, who was following silently behind the pair, even if Han couldn't see or hear him.

Obi-Wan sighed sadly as he looked at the boy he been entrusted to look after by Padmé. Somewhere, he had lost the way.

"Luke, please don't do this," said Obi-Wan evenly, not really asking Luke, but pleading with him. Luke's face remained void of emotion. Calling to mind what Sidious had told him, he waved his hand at the ghost. Obi-Wan spectral faded immediately, as if blown away by the wind. The Emperor couldn't destroy the mysterious force ghosts, but he could, as he had taught Luke to do, hide himself from them, and banish them from the immediate area.

Han cocked his head, unaware of Obi-Wan's presence, or what had just happened to him, "Luke, what's wrong? Why…"

Han stopped, meeting Luke's gaze. Something in Luke's eyes terrified him.

"What have you done to her?" demanded Luke, pausing between each word.

"Luke, no, I didn't-" Han replied quickly, shaking his head and backing away as Luke advanced, matching him step for step.

"What have you done!" snarled Skywalker.

"No! Luke, I-"

Han froze, his mouth hanging open, unable to speak. Luke glared at him fiercely, with no pity or compassion in his burning eyes. Han choked, his eyes watering, his chest feeling like it would burst. As his arms twitched, Leia dropped from his grasp onto the ground, lying with her hair in the dirt. Han frantically thrashed about, struggling for air as Luke's single raised hand remained up without hesitation. Unable to speak, Han simply shook his head at his friend, silently begging for mercy.

Luke felt the anger flow through him as he squeezed the life out of Han, crushing his neck pitilessly. It would have been so easy for Luke, with a single thought, to snap his windpipe. And yet, for some reason, he couldn't. Something in the very back of his mind stopped him. Something that he had almost forgotten.

He lowered his hand, and Han dropped immediately, collapsing onto the floor, completely unconscious. Luke breathed out, feeling relief for his actions. He strolled over and picked Leia's still unconscious form up effortlessly, retracing his steps towards the Imperial Shuttle. He never looked back at Han's body.

As soon as he got back to the ship, Luke laid Leia across the seat and examined her quickly. He passed a finger over the scar on her face, which stopped bleeding at once, even though the mark was still there. Kissing her lightly on the forehead, he seized the controls.

As the shuttle blasted towards the one escape route from the Maw, he caught a glimpse of the Millennium Falcon approaching the ruined sight of the superweapon, closely followed by the Slave I. Luke casually wondered how Boba had survived, even though it wasn't important. He knew that Chewie would rescue Han, and that Boba Fett could lead them both out of the Maw. He also knew, if only from the great fear he sensed in Piett's mind, that Rogue Squadron were, at that very moment, trying to provide cover for Leia's escape.

But all of that didn't matter, because he had Leia.

* * *

Luke's Imperial Shuttle emerged from the total darkness of the black hole cluster in the utter chaos of battle. Two Star Destroyers had been completely torn apart due to a combination of asteroids and Rogue Squadron. The asteroid field had also effectively knocked out communications between every ship, making friendly fire common. Huge pieces of hull, torn off their original ships, were floating freely, smashing into other ships. Nobody knew who was winning. The Alliance had no idea whether Leia had already escaped or not, and the Empire had no idea what they should be doing, as they had no way of entering the Maw. Blaster cannons fired indiscriminately into the carnage from every side. 

Luke's ship flew straight through the chaos, heading towards the Super Star Destroyer, which was staying outside of the asteroid field, and was being basically ignored by the Rebels. Sidious' words echoed in his mind…

You will capture her, and then you will bring her to me…

Luke shivered as he remembered the voice. All thoughts of Sidious disappeared as Leia stirred. She was filthy, and clearly very weak, but still beautiful. Her eyes opened a fraction, looking straight through Luke; her bloodshot eyes still almost blind from the effects of the superlaser.

"Where…?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"You're safe. You're safe now. I'll protect you," replied Luke, human warmth replacing the cold detachment that had become his neutral tone over the last month. Suddenly, he had hope again. There was light at the end of his dark journey.

"Luke." Leia burst into tears of joy, gripping him tightly, as if trying to physically stop him from leaving her.

He leaned forwards, kissing her passionately, savouring every moment, and she kissed him back with equal urgency, finding solace in his lips, just as when they first kissed. Suddenly Luke knew that nothing in the Galaxy mattered except her. Stroking her hair, watching her smile, her first smile for days, Luke saw Leia fall back into unconsciousness, happy and safe.

The grainy voice of Piett crackled through the speakers, "M'lord, this is Admiral Piett. The Emperor commands you to make contact with him."

Luke had Leia. He had to turn his back on the Empire. Now.

Turning off the communications equipment, he set the co-ordinates. As Piett desperately tried to hail Lord Morningstar, Luke Skywalker, aboard a stolen Imperial Shuttle, disappeared into hyperspace. 


	19. In the Shadows

Hey all, and welcome back. Thank you all so much for getting me over 100 reviews, and I'm so sorry this chapter has been coming for so long, but I've been rather ill recently. Next chapter will come far sooner, I promise.

All the best, Jon

Yoda sat in a meditative position, lost in thought, drawing little comfort from his few remaining luxuries; a fire and a roof. Obi-Wan didn't need to announce his arrival, and Yoda didn't break from his trance.

"Tried to warn you, I did. Now matters are worse."

"I did what I could. The Emperor corrupted his mind, making him capture Leia, but there is still hope. There is still conflict."

Yoda considered Obi-Wan's words, reaching out with his mind.

"Moments, there are, that change everything. Decisions that set in motion many things. A crossroads, Luke faces. And yet, something clouds his judgement…"

"A girl," replied Obi-Wan with a sigh, "I don't know who, but she started all of this. He has fallen in love, and the Emperor used this."

"Yes. Like Anakin, I think. But he hesitates. He cannot escape his destiny. A path he must choose, sooner or later."

"That boy is our best hope, and Leia is with him," mused Obi-Wan quietly.

"No. There is another."

"What?" Obi-Wan asked guardedly.

"Only two there are; a Master, and an Apprentice. If Luke became the Apprentice, what happened to Vader?"

"He has been discarded. Yoda, Vader has been under the influence of-"

"Anakin's presence I feel again, for the first time in years. Deep within Vader he was buried, but now he struggles against the darkness. He is our only hope."

"Luke could still-"

"Luke's destiny is uncertain. Decide how to handle him we will in the future. We must join together to revive Anakin now."

"He has gone to Naboo to mourn her. He is in no condition to fight."

Yoda nodded, going over the options, "He must make that choice. Go to him. The Chosen One may yet fulfil the Prophecy."

* * *

Vader looked around him, his body exhausted, his mind overwhelmed. His visor presented the glistening lake to him in a harsh shade of maroon. A scanner indicated a high-pitched frequency repeating in an unrecognised pattern. 

Probably one of the birds that she always used to listen to, right on this beach, exactly where I am…

Anakin allowed himself to fall to the ground, ignoring his suit's warning siren, which quietly sounded in his ear to alert him to the fact that he had fallen over. He couldn't remember how long he had been traipsing over the endless white-sand beaches of Naboo.

"Anakin."

Vader ignored the voice. It was either a suit malfunction or a hallucination, and either meant that the end was near.

"Anakin," the voice repeated more firmly. Vader opened his eyes. A shimmering white form floated over the lake. The face was sad.

"Obi-Wan," Anakin murmured dejectedly, not caring whether he was real or not.

"You will go to the Dagobah system,"

"Dagobah system…"

"There you will meet Yoda, and finish your training."

The ghost faded as Vader collapsed, Obi-Wan's words echoing in his mind.

Dagobah… Yoda… I have to… One more thing…

* * *

A faint light glowed through the darkness. Leia instinctively rolled away from it, the brief sensation of the soft ground passing through her mind without consequence. She heard herself make a muted groan as consciousness returned to her sluggishly. She kept her eyes closed, slightly pained by the dull green patterns that danced in front of her. For the first time, she heard the shrill whistle of a bird. Her mind languidly wandered through topics, wondering what each noise was without the energy or focus to actually look around. She was warm and safe. That was what mattered.

The green light… The weapon… The Maw… Han… Luke

Her bloodshot eyes shot open, expecting to see the hellish scenes that filled her passing nightmares; the black sky, lacking any stars, the cramped corridors of the Falcon, the grey and purely functional Imperial architecture. Instead, she saw a beautifully clear blue sky. The silhouettes of a flock of small birds passed over her. She warily felt the ground with her hand, running her fingers along it; clumps of grass grew out of soft sand. Leia slowly rose to a sitting position, stopping as her head throbbed with each movement; she was still suffering from the effects of the superlaser. A ruined complex surrounded her. Crumbling brown stone walls were covered by creeping vines, and decorative arches led off into shadowy recesses. Single pillars stood alone, almost appearing to be slightly awkward, as whatever they had been supporting had long since collapsed.

She suddenly realised how thirsty she was. Looking around, Leia was surprised to see a glass of water set down beside her, next to a small metal tray containing basic rations of food.

Luke

He had saved her. She remembered that clearly now. Obi-Wan had told her something… then she had collapsed. Luke had been there in those few moments she had been awake. Leia had been terrified that those moments had just been dreams, but she was certain that he was here. He had taken her away from the Empire and the superlaser and the Maw, and the pain and suffering and decisions and dilemmas, and he had brought her to here. True, she didn't know where here was exactly, but it was a huge improvement over where she had been before Luke intervened.

"Luke… Luke," she called out increasingly loudly as her voice returned to her. Almost at once, she heard the dull sound of rapid footsteps on sand.

"Leia," Luke called out, just as he emerged from a shadowy passageway into the brilliant midday sunlight, carrying two satchels of supplies over a sweaty vest that exposed his shoulders and arms. Rushing to her side, he set down his bags, embracing her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder, hiding from everything in the Galaxy except her.

"I've missed you so much," he whispered gently.

Leia didn't reply, but just savoured the moment. Eventually she pulled away gently and lay back down without breaking away from his gaze.

"Where are we?"

"You must still be out if it," replied Luke, concern clear from his face, "Doesn't this look familiar to you? We're on the Yavin moon, in one of the temples. It's not far from the old Rebel base, but I thought here would be a better place to stay hidden."

Leia's eyes drifted to the skies for a moment as Luke, not even blinking, stared at her in rapturous bliss. She tried to make her mind focus; there were a lot of questions that needed to be answered.

"Han… Where's Han?"

Luke stroked her hair, biting his lip as he did so. He breathed in deeply and said, trying to sound as happy as he could, "Han's back with the Rebel Fleet now. He escaped from the Maw, thanks to you. He's safe, just like us."

"What happened after I fainted?"

"The Emperor sent one of his agents after you. I managed to get to you first, and I carried you out of the Maw on Morningstar's shuttle."

"Morningstar…" Leia repeated, shuddering at the memories of her last two times in the company of the Empire's agents; on the Death Star and on Bespin, "I just remember the weapon firing, then Obi-Wan said something… where is he?" Luke's face darkened instantly. He didn't reply, but turned away, fixing his gaze on the ground. Leia shuffled towards him, laying a hand calmly on his back, "Luke, what's wrong?"

"We can't trust him," Luke spat angrily, unable to help almost snarling as he spoke, "He lied to me. He told me Vader killed my father… He…"

Luke hid his face in his hands and turned away from Leia. She stood up unsteadily and laid a hand on each shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.

"I know," she said, "Vader is your father. Luke, you can't blame Obi-Wan for not telling you that. He was trying to-"

"No!" shouted Luke, "That's not it. Anakin… It was Obi-Wan's fault! Just before I was born, Obi-Wan attacked my father. Just when my father needed Obi-Wan's help the most, he attacked Anakin. He tried to murder him, and left him by a river of lava to die. The Emperor alone was able to keep him alive. Obi-Wan turned my father into Darth Vader, and then he tried to make me his tool. He tried to trick me into killing my own father! What sort of sick mind could…"

Luke trailed off as the sobs drowned out his words. He stood up and walked away, pacing backwards and forwards, trying to block out the thoughts. Leia stayed silent; she trusted Luke completely, but she couldn't believe that Obi-Wan was evil. Then she noticed something. Qui-Gon's lightsabre dangled from Luke's belt, swinging as he paced.

"Luke," she asked, half trying to change the subject, and half genuinely wanting to know, "Why do you have my lightsabre?"

Luke glanced down and smiled weakly, "I'm sorry, but mine was damaged in the Maw." Luke pulled a second lightsabre out, the top of which had been badly damaged by heat and appeared to have melted slightly, deforming the shape of the handle, "We can't be too careful. I don't know what lives in this jungle, and the Empire might be following us. That's why we have to stay here. We have to hide for the moment."

"But what about the Rebellion? We have to get back to them. We can't just hide here forever."

A slightly puzzled look crossed over Luke's face, but faded at once. After a brief pause, he walked over to Leia and handed her lightsabre back with an apologetic smile, before leaning towards her and kissing her deeply.

"Leia," he said, pulling away and watching her smile, her eyes still closed," I have something to tell you." He took her hand in his, "It's about you. You… You're pregnant." Leia simply froze, her face giving nothing away, her hand subconsciously moving to her stomach, as if she suddenly expected to feel it move. Luke smiled, "Well, say something!"

Leia suddenly laughed, tears welling in her eyes as she shook her head in disbelief. She had never even seriously thought about children before; her mind had always been busy with the Rebellion. But she had always known inside that she wanted a family. And she had known from that moment on Hoth that she wanted it to be with Luke.

She knew that they couldn't stay on Yavin forever, and she was sure that Luke knew it as well, but as long as this Morningstar character might be hunting them, it was wise to lie low. Either way, all she knew was that she needed more rest to recover, which she could do here, together with the only man that she ever wanted; the father of a child that she was so happy to have.

Everything was simple. Everything was clear. Everything was perfect.


	20. Beginnings and Ends

_Ahem. I appear to be back. I'm sorry. It's been a busy 4 months. Seriously. I could give various excuses, but the crux of the matter is that I'm not dead, and neither is this story . My exams are now over, so I'll be doing a lot more writing. Anyway, I will try to make it up to all of you by replying to as many reviews as I can. Enjoy, Jon_

Vader had never been known to act wholly predictably. His personal legions of Imperial Forces had been feared across the Galaxy during the civil war, not because they were any more well-armed than any other troops, but because nobody felt completely secure; Vader had swept into outlying systems, sometimes executing a single individual of no note, sometimes laying siege to whole planets without any provocation. After all, if an entire squadron of elite ARC troopers could sweep into a backwater planet like Tatooine on his orders, and then leave after shooting a single withered and frail Toydarian junk-trader, then who could honestly be certain they were safe?

And so it was with shock and fear that Vader's arrival at the Royal Palace of Theed was received, whispered quietly into the Ambassador's ear. The Sith Lord had requested a transport to a small abandoned bunker that had been kept ready while Grievous' fleet was known to be operating nearby. As far as the Ambassador was concerned, Lord Vader would find nothing there, but he was wise - or at least frightened - enough not to question the Sith Lord.

Vader stood motionless, deep underground, shimmering blue light playing across his armour. He gazed longingly forwards, hoping, praying, probing the room with the force for the faint echoes of her presence. She was still beautiful to him, even now, even with the white skin, the tint of blue in her fingers, her eyes closed to appear more like she was just sleeping. It had been a cloudy day, he remembered, the first spots of rain tapping gently on the clone troopers' armour as they shifted the earth, the floral wreaths and white stone inscription laid aside. Vader had watched, watched them pull her out of her grave, watched them blindly follow his orders and seal her in a medical capsule, clinging to the fact that he thought he could sense a few midichlorians within her, sustaining her, telling himself it wasn't too late. One day, just like Sidious had said, Vader would find out how to save her. Until then, she had been brought here, frozen in time, preserved in this stasis chamber, the icy smoke playing around her feet, the white dress lending her the look of an angel, illuminated in brilliant white, eternally his. The medical observation equipment had long since been switched off; any doctor could see she was dead.

Even now, he hesitated. Maybe he could still become strong enough to bring her back. Maybe he could bring her back. Maybe they could still be together. He promised his mother he wouldn't fail again. He couldn't. Vader stopped himself, suppressing everything he felt.

The lightsabre ignited. The power cord sprayed a shower of sparks across the floor. The dull whine and blue light of the stasis chamber both faded to nothing. He would leave a message with the Ambassador on his way out; an order to recover the body and bury it in a private ceremony, but he himself had other things to take care of. He had to go to Dagobah, like Obi-Wan had told him. He had to do whatever had to be done.

He couldn't save her. He saw that now. He had never been able to save her. She had been a pawn in the Emperor's game, just like he had. But he realised something else. He hadn't failed. For all these years he had failed, but not today. Today he had won.

* * *

R2 whistled at his gold-plated counterpart, drawing the attention of the protocol droid away from Mon Mothma's briefing in the Rebel Alliance Medical Frigate. Han sat close by to her on the far side of the room, gazing through the holographic map of the Maw and out into space. He looked slightly pained, grimacing as he shifted around on his seat, and a walking stick that he would using for some time was laid beside him. Chewie sat on the other side of him, and looked like he might never leave Han's side again - a state of affairs that was certainly not far from true, and Lando sat next to Chewie. The bounty hunter, meanwhile, was absent; he had been barred from the meeting, as it was assumed, quite correctly, he would sell anything he heard on to the Empire. 

"Hush," snapped C3PO quietly, "I'm trying to hear what they're saying." A questioning whistle came from the astromech droid. "I did hear them talking about Master Luke earlier, but I couldn't make most of it out I'm afraid. It sounds like he won't be rejoining us for the moment, anyway."

Luke had been the discussion of a great many hushed conversations since Han and the others had made it back to the fleet. Han had, despite his personal experience with Luke, defended the kid, albeit somewhat half-heartedly; there had just been something so dark and inhuman about the look in his eyes as he had crushed Han's throat. The fact that he had been crushing Han's throat had not been overlooked either, of course, but the smuggler wasn't quite prepared to think the worst of his friend yet. Nonetheless, the facts seemed to speak for themselves - Luke had abandoned the Rebels at Hoth, reappeared at the Maw in an Imperial Shuttle, at which point the had escorted Leia out of the Maw, and she hadn't been heard from since. Understandably, the loss of such an important Rebel diplomat, and the strong evidence of defection to the Empire had not done Luke's popularity any favours.

"Well," responded Threepio to yet another question from the curious droid beside him, "It is rather nice to back on a large ship. It was a little cramped with Master Fett. I'm not entirely sure why he gave us both back to the Rebels so quickly. I wonder if I performed any of my battle droid functions in a way that displeased him?" A series of clicks and bleeps followed. "Well, technically, no, I didn't actually kill anybody at any point. I have rather come to suspect this may have been a factor. Still, it's good to be back to protocol duties. Oh… Oh dear."

Threepio gazed in shock into the briefing room. Artoo released a trembling whistle. The holographic projector displayed a large image of the Death Star. The room collectively breathed in as they looked at it. Mon Mothma continued, "Based on the evidence of weapons' testing in the Maw, the scale of which General Solo witnessed personally, it must be assumed that the Empire has already begun work on a second Death Star. We may yet be able to use this information to our advantage. Destroying this weapon before it becomes operational would be a great victory for the Rebel Alliance. I have alerted our Bothan spies to this situation, and they are scouring the Galaxy for any sign of a significant enough installation to aid the construction, large-scale movements of raw materials, and so on. They will find the Death Star's location."

* * *

"And that, my Lord, was the last time we had contact from Lord Morningstar," Admiral Piett concluded his brief report, which had focused for some time on Piett's personal efforts to establish a communications trace, and to pursue young Skywalker based on his last known trajectory, while curiously omitting the four Star Destroyers lost during the Battle of the Maw, one of which had almost certainly been crippled largely by friendly fire during the communications breakdown. 

Piett didn't move. He didn't even dare to try breathing, just in case he found he couldn't; he was well aware of the exact circumstances of his promotion to command of the fleet, and the shattered rubble and dusty gloom of the old Senate building, where the Emperor had insisted he give his report, was not putting Piett at ease. Sidious continued his painfully slow pacing, his walking stick striking the ground with a sharp snap. The Senate had been abandoned quickly after it was disbanded; many remembered the fate of the Jedi Temple, and wondered if that too had officially been 'disbanded' in the Emperor's mind.

Piett swallowed, unable to bear the silence, wondering if there was any way he might improve his chances of surviving, "The fleet is standing by, my Lord. Give the order and we will begin sweeping the Outer Rim systems. We will find Lord Morningstar."

"That will not be necessary," breathed Sidious quietly, "Return to the Executor and return the fleet to standard positions. Call off all search parties immediately."

"As you wish, my Lord." Piett bowed while already backing away, and marched out of sight as quickly as was still respectful. Sidious watched him go with a contemptuous sneer; Piett didn't understand the scope of the Sith's plan. If Sidious simply wanted to find Morningstar, that would not be hard; Luke was a unique entity in the force, half-Jedi, half-Sith, and would therefore be easy to track, but it would be foolish to interfere early.

Anakin had fallen further than he could ever have imagined just by being with Padmé, even without Sidious' intervention. The same would be true with Luke. The boy, Sidious believed, had started down a dark path. Like Anakin, Luke might struggle against it, but he couldn't escape. In time, he would fall on his own. All Sidious had to do was wait. And, if there was one quality that the Sith had mastered, after millennia passing on arcane knowledge in the shadows of the Galaxy's outskirts, then it was patience.

* * *

The Slave I blasted away from the Rebel Fleet within minutes. The bounty hunter was momentarily satisfied; he had another job, and one that would be, Lando had assured him, exceedingly well paid. True, it was another that was in the company of the Jedi girl, which was not a positive thing in itself, and the fact that he was once more contractually obliged to follow her on any of her foolish crusades was even worse, but then, he considered, the highest fees always had to be earned. 

As for finding her, somebody in the Empire would know the trajectory that shuttle had followed after it left the Maw, and Boba knew the Imperials who were open to bribes; the reward from the Administrator of a gas mining facility would be more than worth the trouble, and any result that might allow him a greater chance of getting hold of useful Rebel information would be exceedingly profitable in the long-term. There was work to be done.


	21. Paradise Lost

_Hey there, right, yes, sorry, more fic here, love you all, believe it or not, Jon_

The Galaxy had thousands of star systems, many of them inhabited, many more with the potential to be, and many of the latter host to tiny settlements for individuals who wanted to live out of sight for various reasons. Most people never left their home world, and most that did wouldn't travel along anything except the major trade routes, and not for any destination except the Core worlds. The fact was, most people were utterly clueless about the Galaxy that they lived in, deeply suspicious of outsiders, and unconcerned with pan-Galactic politics.

Nonetheless, Boba Fett had a professional interest in knowing things; knowledge was useful, and could sell for more than a laser riddled corpse in the right circumstances. He was used to knowing things people didn't. Still, he considered, as he slowly orbited the orange gas giant, there weren't many people who hadn't heard of Yavin. The rebels had made sure everybody knew it was the world above which the Death Star had been destroyed, and the Empire had made sure that everybody knew it was the world which the Empire had invaded just months later, and that they had driven the entire Rebel Alliance from it.

The Slave I's scanners continued to whirr quietly; no cities, no clear power sources, scattered ancient civilisation, near-total life readings from the rainforests. He flicked two switches. Traces of radiation showed up as red; the result of the shuttle's landing sequence. Boba Fett set a course for the autopilot, and rose, moving back into the rear bay armoury; two Jedi, one of them potentially volatile if the Maw was anything to go by, and the other with unclear loyalties, were dangerous. He swung a rifle onto his back, and clipped a pair of thermal detonators to his belt; retrieving the Princess for the Alliance could be messy, and he had no instructions, nor any desire to keep Luke Skywalker alive.

* * *

By contrast, nobody had heard of Dagobah. It was a desolate world floating round a distant and dying star, uninhabited, as so many were, and thousands of presently empty planets were more suitable to support settlers. The odd Imperial surveyor had made a passing visit, but Yoda had ensured that their report made no references that could give his location away. That the head of the Jedi Council should be there was ridiculous. That the Dark Lord of the Sith would personally go there was equally so. Nonetheless, the sleek TIE X-1 Advanced, perhaps the most feared individual ship since Grievous' flagship, the Invisible Hand had wrought such devastation on any world it appeared over, settled down in the murky swamps, the noise and light scaring away the wildlife for the moment. 

Yoda remembered the final days. How Anakin had come to him, confided in him, about the dreams of pain, suffering and death. Anakin had seen the dark times coming, even if he hadn't seen that he would be the architect, of Padmé's tragedy, and that of the Jedi, and the whole Republic. Still, that was past now. The landing ramp dropped with a hiss. Vader emerged. Yoda made no effort to keep his distance.

"Your training you must completely. You must face the final test."

Vader followed without question.

* * *

Leia strolled across the ancient worn paths, half wondering what civilisation had trodden them so long ago, half scanning the surrounding dense undergrowth for any predators. Of course, most creatures were aware of the Force, even if they didn't understand it, and most seemed to avoid Leia when she approached; she was an odd entity in the Force, and it unsettled them. Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious. 

She yawned. Luke was out by the lake, fishing. She loved him. Loved him so totally and absolutely. But no person is a island, and no two people can be either. As pleasant as the peace was, as much as she loved going to sleep in his arms, not worried that any second could bring an alarm of approaching Imperial forces, no tough choices, no lesser-of-two-evils, no personal sacrifices, she couldn't stop thinking about out there. Just because she had stopped didn't mean the Galaxy would stop with her. She knew well enough that what she had seen in the Maw had proved that there was another Death Star in production. The first one would never have fallen if she hadn't got the technical readout to the Rebels, and Luke hadn't been accepted into Red Squadron; could Rogue Squadron bring down the second one without their help? Even if they could, was it right to stand by and do nothing? She had Luke, and her child, but plenty of people on Alderaan had had lovers and children. This was just selfish. She refused to admit Luke felt none of this. She would talk to him again when he-

…………_…………_**…_……_…**

She froze mid-step, only allowing herself to move with her eyes and mind, searching the area around her. Such a strange, cold, silent presence had stunned her on this world of small innocent sentient creatures. Still, whatever it was, it was veiled by the plants and insects and tiny decomposers all over the forest floor. She moved towards it.

* * *

Boba Fett sat idly on a tree trunk. He had left the Slave I in a clearing some way away and made the journey to here on foot; it would be good to keep his arrival unannounced. Normally, he mused bitterly, he would have a huge advantage in a rainforest like this one - plenty of cover, ample distractions - but then he was dealing with Jedi, so the advantage was firmly with them, and their ability to sense him miles off. Trying to futilely sneak closer would simply give the impression he was hunting, and possibly provoke them into open hostilities that weren't strictly necessary, and may prove a risk to his life. So he would wait, and let them, preferably one of them, come to him. 

And one of them was coming, which he knew because one of the motion trackers he had planted in a perimeter around him had said so. Now he would wait. That, and keep his finger firmly on the trigger for the mines he had concealed under the carpet of leaves.

* * *

_He's just sitting there?_

Leia didn't quite follow. The greatest bounty hunter in the Galaxy was just sitting there. She hung silently from the tree branch directly above him, gripping Qui-Gon's lightsabre. True, he had been on her side in the Maw, but mercenaries would change side for a bag of gold. It would be prudent to ask after disarming him…

* * *

_She's just hanging there?_

Boba Fett didn't quite follow. A Jedi with a lightsabre, who had presumably, albeit wrongly assumed that he didn't know she was there, was directly above him, and yet she was doing nothing.

_Here we go…_

He heard her start to release her grip on the tree branch. And then fall.

Boba leapt forwards as he heard the lightsabre ignite, rolled and turned; whether she had been aiming to kill or restrain him wasn't clear, but he wasn't taking any risks - she had to be disarmed. He drew his pistol and shoved it right into her neck, just as he felt the heat from the lightsabre held an inch from his own neck. A standoff.

"You used me as a hostage on Bespin. You sold Han to the Empire. You tried to sell me into slavery."

"You left me to die on a deserted moon of Lok."

"I left you with supplies and a homing beacon."

"And I saved your life in the Maw repeatedly, and I only get paid if we're both alive, so how about we start again?"

Against all his instincts, he holstered his pistol. The green blade disappeared, but Leia kept the lightsabre handle in her hand, and took two steps back.

"Why are you here?"

"On the Rebel payroll, they want you back."

She sighed and turned away, "I do want to go back, but Luke won't, and I love him, even if they do need us both."

"Skywalker?" asked Fett with mild surprise. He composed himself quickly; she had been lied to, clearly, and that was good for him. Bounty hunters didn't normally try to break up relationships, but if the money was put up to do so, "I think there's something you should know."

It had been hard to get hold of, but a single Imperial security recording made by a probe droid had survived, and he, of course, had copied it, not because he had this plan in mind at the time, but because it paid to know everything, and have evidence of everything. Of course, he didn't have the recording of Luke attacking Han on him; it was in the Slave I's databank, "Luke tried to kill Han."

Leia's face was blank, "No he didn't," to her, it was a fact, it was evident, "Morningstar came after me; Luke saved me from him."

_Morningstar…_

Boba Fett had heard several transmissions of the name coming to and from the Executor; he had always assumed it was just code, though other transmissions confirmed Luke had been on the Executor before going ahead in the Imperial shuttle.

"And you weren't suspicious that when Luke rescued you, he didn't rescue Han at the same time? That the Rebels had never heard of Morningstar previously, when Vader was so well known and feared?" Boba remembered something, "Find Skywalker's lightsabre. That will show you the truth of the matter."

* * *

Sidious smiled; strange emotions were flowing through the force around Yavin. Fear. Suspicion. Anger. He pressed the comlink's activation switch. 

"Have my shuttle ready for immediate deployment."

* * *

Leia worked quietly, glancing over her shoulder. Luke was still out fishing, and she wanted it to stay that way for a minute; the bounty hunter was wrong, she knew that, or thought she knew that, but still, she couldn't help but wonder. So she had left him out in the forest, and come back to the camp. Luke's lightsabre was where he had left it, the handle still warped by the heat of the Maw's lava flows, just like he had said. She took it into one of the old temples, into a dark room, and tried to fix it, just to get it to ignite, just for a moment. It made a hiss, and a spark. She stared at it wide-eyed, but it wasn't any clear colour, just white. Another hiss, then a droning buzz, much like a light sabre's noise, but with no blade to be seen. Another spark. 

"Leia."

Leia spun, just as the sabre burst into light. Red light. The lightsabre of a Sith. Luke and Leia stared into each other's eyes. Luke's face was blank; no explanation came.

And at that moment, Leia knew that Boba Fett was right. She was trapped on a deserted planet, carrying the child of the Sith Lord Darth Morningstar, a man who had tried to murder Han Solo.

And she was afraid.


	22. Arma Virumque

_Yep, more Always Emotion is the Future, after a huge pause. This chapter is dedicated to all the people who have emailed me to tell me to get on with it - thanks, I really did need somebody to poke me to make me get on with it. More will come quicker from now on! Enjoy, Jon, x _

_

* * *

_

The lovers' eyes met, both sets of eyes illuminated in the harsh red of the Sith weapon.

"Why?" Leia asked, the droning hum of the crimson blade casting a harsh blood-red glow through the temple's inner room. She didn't need to ask whether it was true. She knew something was very wrong. She felt dizzy as she sensed waves of the force wash over her; Luke was seething with clashing emotions. It was unreadable, and frightening, like a vicious storm.

"For you." Luke's voice was calm. He sounded so certain, "It was all for you. For our child. For us. I just wanted what was best for you."

"By lying to me?" Leia breathed fast, her temper flaring up, she just wanted to scream at him, "By choking anybody who didn't fit into your little plan? By abducting me, and bringing me to a deserted planet? You didn't give me any choice in anything!"

"What other choice did I have?" Luke replied calmly, staying still, keeping his quiet, but staring at her, right into her eyes, unashamed - proud, even - of what he had done, "You went alone into a secret Imperial prison facility, you could have been killed. I had to save you from yourself, before you got yourself killed. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

"How could you do this?"

The question was earnest; she thought she knew Luke, but the Luke she knew couldn't have done any of this. Luke would be the one to save her from it.

"Don't you understand what I had to do to save you?" Luke said slowly, suppressing the hint of frustration in his voice. He had no idea why Leia couldn't see things as he did, "I had to put myself under the Emperor's tuition. I had to do terrible things, things I didn't want to do, because it was the only way to become strong enough to save you."

"I never wanted to be saved! I didn't need to be saved from Obi-Wan, or from Han. He was just trying to help me, and you as well!"

"I don't want to hear anything else about Han." Luke regretted his harsh tone at once. He took a step forwards, offering her his hand as a peace gesture, "It's just us now."

"Don't," warned Leia, taking a step away, and throwing down the lightsabre. She desperately wanted to just throw herself forwards and beg him to hold her, and she knew that he knew it as well. "I just need to be alone right now."

Luke let her go.

* * *

Not long afterwards, after a long stroll through the forest, Leia awkwardly re-entered the camp they had set up together shortly after they had arrived. Luke rose to his feet and met her gaze, but kept his distance, which Leia appreciated. Even without the benefit of the force, she could tell he wanted to set things right as well. 

"Leia," he began. She shook her head, and he understood at once, going quiet to let her speak without interruption.

"I believe you," she started. Luke was visibly relieved, and smiled happily. She continued, "I know you meant well. I know you did everything you did for the right reasons. I forgive you for lying to me. But now it's got to stop. You've got to let go of everything that's happened, and come back to the real world. We've got to stop hiding."

"Why?" Luke replied, shaking his head.

_How can he not understand…?_

"Because we're being selfish. We're just thinking of ourselves

"You're always thinking of other people. Always of the rebellion, of refugees, or some planet nobody else would care about. It's part of why I love you. But now it's time you looked after yourself."

She knew he was right in part; she'd turned down all the time off that Command had offered her. She nodded weakly, before adding, "But you have to turn back on all this now. If you have to face Vader again, I understand, but you've got to stay on the light side."

He knew she was right in part, "But I can do so much more with what I've learnt. I can change things, and make them better

"What right do you have?" Leia was genuinely panicked; this was the reasoning that had destroyed the Republic, "Why do you think you can tell people what to do or what to think?"

"Because I can. I have the power to make things better for everybody."

_Just because you can doesn't mean you should _

She didn't say any of it. She knew Luke wouldn't understand. She didn't want to think it, but he was thinking just as Palpatine had; that the strongest were allowed to do things, by virtue of being strong.

"Because sometimes people need to be told what to do and think. Anyway, you just said that you trust me, and you know me; I'll do what's right. People need a leader. I know what's best for everybody. I can change things, make things right, stop all this war and chaos. The people in my Galaxy can all be as happy as we are!" Luke smiled happily, staring into the sky.

"You can't mean this. It's not right."

Luke laughed, "Who's going to tell me what's right? I can tell people what's right, I can make things right, I can change the Galaxy, just like you want to with the Rebels, but I can do things so much faster. We can stay here, and when the time comes, I can overthrow the Emperor, I can take his place, and we can do anything!"

"Not like this!" Leia felt heat prickle her eyes, "Just," she turned and left again, "I need to think…"

* * *

Boba Fett rose and glanced over at Leia as she approached, rushing through the rainforest's undergrowth. He had been expecting her to be a little more distraught; her composure and focus almost impressed him. 

"Tell me everything that's happened."

"There's nothing more to tell. I strongly suggest we leave now. Skywalker's not mentally stable."

Leia knew that Fett's intuition was right. There was something very wrong with his mind. There was conflict, fear, things Obi-Wan had warned her led to the dark side. Maybe she'd known something was wrong all along. Maybe she hadn't wanted to admit it. Maybe she'd been too trusting. She couldn't leave. She placed a hand on her stomach, feeling the growing bump. She had to care for her child too. She couldn't stay. But Luke needed help. She couldn't abandon him. There was something wrong with him, but she could feel there was goodness too.

Leia bit her lip hard. She closed her eyes tightly. She tasted the blood from her bottom lip. This was an impossible choice. There was no right answer. But she had made impossible choices before, choices that had cost other people their lives, choices that had risked her own safety, and now she had to make such a choice again.

"Take me back to your ship. I need to send a transmission to the Rebel Alliance," she whispered, "Hurry, before-"

"No," Luke's voice was still eerily calm, but louder now. He had meant it as a command. Leia spun as Luke rose from his crouched position amongst the bushes. Leia panicked slightly, backing away, shaking her head through the sobs she couldn't stop. Beside her, Boba Fett laid a hand on her shoulder, leading her backwards, towards his ship, as his other hand hovered by his pistol, ready to draw.

Luke prowled from side to side, moving slowly closer, wary of the bounty hunter who just kept surviving their encounters. The red lightsabre ignited in Luke's hands, and he held the blade forwards, ready to lunge, advancing at the same rate as Leia and Boba Fett retreated.

"I tried to make things right. I wanted everything to be perfect. Why do people keep getting in our way?" Luke's voice rose slightly, betraying his frustration, "This bounty hunter! Now he's in our way!" Luke shouted now, pointing his blade straight at Fett's chest, "He's trying to turn you against me! Just like Obi-Wan did! Just like Han! They all turned against me! I won't let anybody take you from me!"

Boba Fett's hand went for his pistol. Luke tightened his empty hand into a fist. Mid-draw, the blaster pistol crumpled like paper, crushed by the force. The bounty hunter didn't realise in time, and brought up the crippled weapon, trying to use it anyway, acting on reflex. Luke seized the moment and leapt forwards.

Leia saw it all in slow motion; somehow when one sensed only the force presence of the world, time seemed to pass much slower. She felt Luke charging. She felt the blank mind of the bounty hunter. She shuddered as she felt the future coming towards her. She saw what would happen. She saw the blade pass cleanly through the Mandalorian armour. She saw the momentum of Luke's savage attack knock the head clean away into the undergrowth. She saw the blood. She didn't even realise that Qui-Gon's lightsabre had moved into her hands. She didn't hear it ignite. Just as Obi-Wan had taught her, she didn't think, she just felt. She couldn't sit by and watch Fett die.

A grating screech. The two lightsabres locked together.

Luke and Leia stared at each other in shock. From nowhere, they had crossed blades for the first time. Leia pushed against Luke to keep the lightsabres locked. She didn't know if they were duelling now.

_He wouldn't attack me if he could… would he?_

Luke glanced from Leia to the bounty hunter who she had leapt in front of and protected. Who she had chosen ahead of him. He whispered, his voice seething with rage, "You brought him here to kill me!"

"No!" Leia spluttered, "No! Luke, I-"

Boba went for his other blaster with his other hand. The motion snapped Luke into action. With no way to use his lightsabre, he flung his own free hand forward, grasping Boba's neck through the force, this time showing no restraint.

_Enough is enough. This ends now_

He squeezed harder, seeking not just to incapacitate, but to crush his windpipe, to kill Boba Fett once and for all. Leia felt Boba suffering through the force. She couldn't stand by. The days when she could let somebody be killed had ended when she had joined the Rebel Alliance. Not again.

_Not after Alderaan…_

Leia's left hand shot forwards, sending waves of pressure pulsing through the force. Just for a second as it slammed into Luke's chest, she saw a look of utter confusion and loss in his eyes, before the force push knocked him off his feet, catapulting him back out of sight. She heard a heavy thud as he hit something.

Leia felt the bounty hunter's cold gauntlet-shielded hand grab her shoulder as she moved to go to him, but his grip wasn't firm, and she could tell he would have let her go if she had wanted. The pause was the last thing she needed. She couldn't leave him here alone, injured. But if she stayed, there was no telling what he would do. He had accused her of bringing Fett there to kill him. She could sense the anger and hatred. He wasn't thinking straight. He was unpredictable and dangerous.

_Run, Leia, run!_

Obi-Wan's voice echoed through the force, his presence suddenly able to appear to Leia again now that Luke's mental block had dropped. The voice - the kind paternal voice - stopped her. The cloudiness cleared. She turned. Boba Fett understood at once and ran. She sprinted a step behind the bounty hunter, letting him lead. Obi-Wan was right. She had to run, so she ran, pushing her way through the undergrowth, letting each leaf wipe away the tears as it brushed her face.

* * *

The heat was the first thing Luke felt; that stifling humidity that you can barely breath sometimes. The world rotated, and was full of colours, but he was sure it was sideways. He turned his head, but lacked the strength to stand up. Dragging his hand to the throbbing pain at the back of his head, his eyes fluttered as he saw the blood. The events came back to the him in the wrong order. 

_Fett… Leia…_

An explosive roar pierced the ringing in his ears from his impact with the tree. The light hurt his eyes as he looked through the forest canopy. The bounty hunter's ship soared into the atmosphere, away from him. He rolled onto his back, to face it, reaching out with his hand, ignoring the burning pain of what he guessed was a broken wrist.

He reached out with the force, probing the force, looking for the ship, to grab it, stop it, bring her back, he had to, to save her, to keep them together, he had to be strong enough he couldn't feel it, but he could see it still, pulling away, leaving him, still the world spun, sweating in the heat, lying there, powerless, weak, useless-

He screamed. Then the colours turned to black.


	23. Setting Things Right

_Why yes, I am back, after a ludicrously long pause; thanks to everybody who's reviewed, emailed, and generally spent the last year telling me to hurry up. Just so you know, after spending some time away from the fic finishing university, and sorting out a career and accommodation, I'm taking a couple of weeks of writing holiday in Seattle, on account of which, this update, and hopefully many more to come much sooner this time._

_All the best, Jon._

* * *

Vader walked through the low, narrow underground cave, which ran beneath the gnarled old tree that Yoda had led him to; it would have been a tight squeeze for anybody, but for Vader's large metal body, it was even more awkward. Sensors in the suit informed him of the local life forms that were nearby; insects and snakes mainly.

As the corridor began to stir and shift, turning dark behind what looked like a veil of heat haze, he guessed, as he gripped the handle of his lightsabre, that the test Yoda had promised him was about to begin.

He found himself floating in darkness. Absolutely empty space reached out in every direction. He felt nothing under his feet, but sensed that he could will himself to move in any direction through the force.

Nothing. Absolute darkness.

_Wait…_

A tiny speck. There was something in the distance. He willed himself towards it, accelerating every moment. The object came into focus. A battle droid; one of the feeble reprogrammed worker droids that the Trade Federation had used all those years ago. It silently rotated in space to face him, as the lightsabre flew to his hand, ignited, and sliced straight through the droid. As it fell to pieces, each of the parts dissolved into nothing. Vader stopped and turned.

_That was it…?_

He saw something behind him. Something coming towards him, and quickly too. He knew the face instantly, even though he had only seen it once before, for a split second on Naboo, as a child; Darth Maul.

Maul's twin lightsabre ignited, as he flew at Vader, as quickly as Vader had charged at the droid before, and swung horizontally, bringing the lightsabre down to decapitate Vader. Vader blocked, parried, and moved back, as Maul continued the fierce and dangerous - but rather clumsy - assault.

Then Vader sensed two more presences approaching him. From his left, Dooku, with his lightsabre held at arm's length in his distinctive overhand grip. And from his right, Grievous, four lightsabres whirling in a blaze of different colours.

Vader picked his strategy at once. Striking back at Maul - enough to knock him back for a moment - Vader concentrated on Grievous; as he recalled, the General had no force training at all, and thus had no defence to Vader's force grip, which instantly tore off two of the four arms, and claimed one of the lightsabres for himself.

Grievous was the first to die almost straight after this; with Vader's own red lightsabre thrust into the blaze of whirling green and blue, bringing an immediate halt to Grievous' intimidating but ultimately inefficient attack, the second was driven through his chest plate, and reclaimed immediately after, as the General's image faded away.

Dooku and Maul caused more problems; both were trained Sith, and could not be disposed of so easily with the force as an ally. Meeting the attacks of both, he was completely unable to find any opening to pursue; any attack on either would allow the other an easy strike at him. Every passing second made him more frustrated, as every blow left him utterly on the defensive, and unable to strike back, until, seizing what looked like it might be the slightest chance to strike, he lunged with a cry at Dooku, viciously pulling off a feint to the left, but then instead bringing the lightsabre straight up in a vicious upward swing, and lopping off both the former Sith's hands, just as he had once before.

In the same breath, he turned and lunged at Maul, before Maul could do the same to him, and drove the blade up to the handle into the chest of the demon-faced Sith Lord.

Only to find himself not looking at the red and black markings of Maul at all. No sneer. No yellow eyes. No horns.

But rather, wavy brown hair. Large hazel eyes. And the mole on her left cheek.

'Anakin…' she whispered, pleadingly, as the blood soaked through her dress.

'No,' Vader responded, as he watched Padmé dying in front of him, and began to reach into the force, and find the source of his illusion, and tear it apart.

Outside, Yoda felt the waves of energy lashing out through the force, seeking to tear apart the tree, or, if necessary, the entire planet. But Yoda knew it was futile; the tree had been imbued with its power a long time ago, and had weathered worse assaults than this over the years.

'No,' repeated Vader firmly, inside, as Padmé slumped down, suspended in space somehow, still conscious, still begging with her eyes, still pleading for help. Vader's attempt to end the test became more forceful; he started getting hold of anything he could in the force, and literally tearing it apart, or crushing it to dust, but none of it did anything to the black empty world, and his dying wife.

The exertion began to tire him. He felt faint. He fell.

* * *

Hours later, Vader rested outside, lifted out of the tree's field of influence through Yoda's control of the force. And, to Vader's annoyance, matters were just as he remembered them, with Yoda providing a scolding, and he himself expected to sit there and listen to it.

'Control! Control! Always you are desperate to have total control! Control life and death, be named a Master, control the galaxy, always with you how things must be! Control all things, you cannot.'

Vader sat in silence. He could not deny the general wisdom of the aged Jedi Master, though he was not in the mood for a lecture, and felt that this training ought to be focussing more on the practical; a general stratagem, or the mastery of a new skill.

'Much more training is required, yet. Much you have forgotten. Much you never learnt in the first place.'

'But, first,' Obi-Wan interjected, as Vader and Yoda both turned to look at the shimmering ghost, 'The disturbance, Anakin. The disturbance in the force that happened at the very start of this. What did the dark lord of the Sith do? How did he change the course of the Galaxy so absolutely in one moment?'

Vader hesitated for a moment, but then put aside his misgivings. As much as he had some personal dislike for Yoda and Obi-Wan, they were the only allies he had, they did potentially have the power to help him, they now had several common goals, and he had nothing to gain from hiding anything from them, 'It was not my former Master. It was Leia. She is pregnant with Luke's child.'

Yoda stared for a moment at Vader. Then swallowed. Then pulled his trembling arms together, and hunched down, as if hiding, more distressed than Vader had ever seen him before. 'No,' cried the diminutive Jedi Master, sounding more like one of the creatures that lived with him on the swamp world than a respected and composed Master.

Obi-Wan, more out of habit than necessity, sat down, and stared despondently onwards, completely lost, immediately blaming himself entirely for everything that had happened, as he had chosen not to tell Luke the truth. 'The children,' Obi-Wan whispered to himself mournfully.

'Children?' Vader asked, not following the extreme grief the others were showing.

'Padmé's children. The children of Anakin and Padmé,' murmured Yoda from his hunched position.

'Your children,' added Obi-Wan, turning to Vader to speak, after flashing a warning glance at Yoda.

Anakin allowed himself to fall to the ground; he would have lain sprawled out, though the suit automatically responded to a lack of control by lowering itself to a more dignified and artificial kneeling position. Anakin choked and sobbed and screamed at everything that had happened, but without the artificial voice box engaged, all his sounds were muffled behind the airtight mask.

To the eyes of anybody watching him, Darth Vader seemed to be kneeling in stoic acceptance. But Yoda and Obi-Wan heard his true feelings in the force; all the raging, clashing emotions that a black robotic suit could veil, but not destroy.

'How?' Anakin demanded, 'How could you leave them both out there? Leave them both completely ignorant of who they were?'

Obi-Wan looked suddenly angry, and snapped back, 'To protect them from you!' All three sat in silence for a moment, until Obi-Wan spoke again, trying to determine exactly what this all meant, 'Yoda, is there any precedent for this at all?'

'A few times, in the past, but of this exact nature, no. Sometimes at the Jedi temple, youthful spirits and hormones ruled young minds. Overlooked it, we mostly did, as long as youthful passion, it was, and not love. Sometimes, pregnancy occurred, but the Jedi… retired, they would be. Allowed to retire from the Order quietly and comfortably.'

'You expelled them?' Anakin asked, a note of anger clear in the artificial voice.

'For the good of the child,' Yoda responded. 'For the mother, such attachment. For the child, with a Jedi mother, who could never be there when the child wanted her. No, cruel, it would be, to rob a child of its mother, that is how we thought.'

'Could the child be harmed by the mother continuing to train?' Obi-Wan asked, concern playing over his shimmering ghostly features.

'Perhaps. I do not know. There is no precedent for this, as I said. But many things does this revelation explain. The child of a Jedi is rare enough, but both parents as Jedi, and them the children of one so strong with the force as Anakin Skywalker, and the mother actively training as a Jedi during the pregnancy, and an incestuous pregnancy too; prone to complications that is at any rate. The child, unique it will be. An entity such as this, never has one existed in the living force before. Change the course of history, it might. Cloud the force with a great disturbance, its conception did.'

'How can we fix this?' asked Obi-Wan.

'We?' Vader exclaimed, 'We? None of us have any right to interfere! You've been out on this swamp world for too long, plotting schemes, and treating people - children, _my_ children - like instruments for you to achieve your ends. You tried to use my own son to kill me. You've lied to them both. Manipulated them for your own ends. You're no better than the Emperor. You had no right to interfere in their lives. You had no right to trick them into doing the dirty work you couldn't do. If you had just left them alone, they could both be happy! Now Luke is halfway down the dark path, and Leia is in mortal danger, carrying her brother's child! You've done enough harm to their lives!'

'Anakin,' began Obi-Wan, meaning to chastise his former student for being so disrespectful, before realising he had nothing he could justly reply. Instead, he continued, 'What can we do now to set things right?'

'If there is the slightest bit of light left in me, then there is certainly something good left in Luke. If I can turn away from the darkness, then so can he. And as for the child, the right place is with the parents. Somewhere peaceful. Somewhere where nobody will follow them and try to use them in any huge Galaxy-spanning crusade. Just like she wanted for Luke and Leia, at the lakes of Naboo. And there's only one way I can see that such a thing can happen. I have to go.'

'Anakin,' called Obi-Wan as Vader rose and walked back towards his ship, 'If you go now, anything could happen. You could be killed. You could be seduced by the dark side again.'

'That doesn't matter,' replied Anakin as he reached his TIE X-1 Advanced, 'All that matters is that I set things right for my children.'

_Like she would have wanted_

'Once more,' said Obi-Wan, watching the ship blast away from the planet, 'the fate of the Galaxy may rest on Anakin's shoulders.'

'Perhaps, but in Leia, there is another. For better or worse, we have done everything we can. Hope, that is all we have.'

'I will go to Leia. She requires all the support we can give her.'

'Tell her of this, you must, Obi-Wan. In that, Vader is right. Keeping the truth from them, terrible things it has caused. Wrong, we were. It is time that she knows the whole truth,. Better that, than she learn it from Luke.'

'I will do what must be done, old friend.'

* * *

Hours later, passing in and out of consciousness, Luke became faintly aware of being dragged through the jungle. Then he felt that he was in the shade, and the cool.

Then there was the pain. The terrible, unbearable pain of field surgery; Luke was not unfamiliar from receiving emergency treatment - he had taken a few blaster wounds over his time with the Rebels - but you never got used to it, and this was absolute agony.

He saw not through his vision, which was clouded by the current pain and a concussion from the impact, but through the force. That was how he knew it was the Emperor who had rescued him, and was personally overseeing his treatment.

Luke gritted his teeth and let the medi-droid get on with whatever needed to be done. He tried to focus and think, despite the pain, and, if anything, to distract himself from it. Leia had attacked him. But he wasn't angry at anybody except himself. He had been carried away by anger at the bounty hunter who just kept interfering, and Leia had reacted on instinct. He couldn't blame her for acting to save Boba Fett's life; her caring nature was part of the reason he loved her. He had to find her and explain everything. He needed to set things right.

In the meanwhile, he was once again in the hands of the Emperor, who had rescued him, and was providing essential medical treatment, which gave Luke hope that Sidious was not angry at him for trying to run away with Leia. This was fortunate, as he needed the strength of the Empire again.

He had accepted their help, and turned his back on them before. He could do it again, he told himself. He would call himself "Morningstar", and call the Emperor "Master" if that helped; titles didn't really mean anything.

Luke had plans, and with the strength of the Empire as his tool, he could achieve them. And then he could turn his back on all of it. But not now.

* * *

Sidious watched the machines at their work. Though the Sith Lord had a habit of favouring the ironic touches, the equipment that was operating on Luke was not the same as had operated on Anakin at the end of the Clone Wars; that was still gathering dust on Coruscant.

Today, cruelty had won out over irony; this equipment was even more antiquated. Luke was receiving attention from a medi-droid that had last seen service in the first half of the Clone Wars, when it had been programmed to deal with injuries received by clones, whose treatment was designed to favour the most rapid method of returning them to the immediate battle, with no care whatsoever for their pain or long-term health.

Sidious had no care for such matters; his mastery of the force - combined with the technology at his disposal - was quite sufficient to keep the young Skywalker alive for as long as he needed. That Sidious had gone to trouble of disabling the medi-droid's anaesthesia spray was another sign of his annoyance; he wished for Morningstar to suffer for attempting to break away, however briefly and futilely it had been.

But Sidious had many methods at his disposal, and currently he favoured reusing some of those that had worked so well with Anakin. To the Emperor's mind, Anakin had responded well to the crippling of his body; it had been a crucial part of breaking his spirit. It was an unsubtle yet effective way of robbing somebody of a part of their humanity.

Ideally, Sidious would have preferred to kill Leia, using her to push Luke into the darkness, but the Emperor was patient, and had his eye very much on what the child of Morningstar could grow up to become.

It was through this reasoning, as screaming echoed through the cramped Imperial shuttle, that Luke lost his entire right arm, from just below the shoulder, to an obsolete medi-droid. If Morningstar asked, the Emperor would tell him that it had been so badly damaged when Leia and Boba attacked him that there had been no option but to amputate.

The shuttle flew through hyperspace towards Coruscant; there, well guarded and removed from any distractions, Darth Sidious intended to bring about the final irredeemable step of the fall of Luke Skywalker.

* * *

Leia sat on the end of her bed, contemplating her own feet. Her return to the Rebel fleet had not been as happy as she might have hoped.

Her relationship with Luke was public knowledge, and his fall from grace had harmed her reputation as well; during her absence, others had risen through the ranks. Troubles in the Empire had made the Rebels more numerous and more bold; Imperial defections, and an increasingly aggressive policy by the Rebels meant that Leia was keenly aware that she, as a diplomat, was no longer as crucial to the Rebellion as she had been, even overlooking the fact she was no longer fully trusted.

The fact that the attack on the Maw - in which the Rebels, though victorious, had suffered losses - had been to rescue her, and yet, so gossip went, she had actually refused to leave with Boba Fett after he had found her, hurt her reputation as well. Of course, as everybody knew, she had been instrumental in rescuing Han, but somehow that was overlooked in the general negative mood towards her.

But if there was one thing Leia believed, it was that she had to do whatever she could, to the best of her abilities. She was determined not to fade away, or take up some minor ceremonial position in the Rebellion, as a passive symbol to remind people of Alderaan's destruction. If the Rebellion was currently not willing to let her do her duty, then she would find another way to help them, and the whole Galaxy.

She would go to where she was needed. She would finish her training. She would become a Jedi; that great noble race of protectors who had sustained peace in the Republic for millennia before the Empire had tried to wipe them out. And one day, in the new Galaxy she believed would follow, she could train others. She could form a New Order of the Jedi for the New Republic, when the Empire finally fell.

Then there was the question of Luke. Somehow, she could feel he was safe and receiving medical treatment, so his immediate health wasn't a problem. But she was worried. No matter what he had insisted about being able to control the Emperor, and turn away from the darkness, he had scared her. No matter how much she loved him, something inside him had blazed up in front of her when he saw Boba Fett; a raging fury that had taken him over for a moment.

As much as she hated to admit it, what she had seen seemed to confirm what Obi-Wan had tried to warn her about; Luke had been influenced by the dark side of the force. But she knew from the time they had spent together that there was still plenty of good in him. She just needed to speak to him. Except, of course, now she had no idea where he was, or how to find him.

If she wanted to be able to find him, then she needed to do this training. And if he came to find her, then she felt that it might be better if they could speak as equals; both of them trained in the ways of the force. In any case, the Empire had repeatedly sent agents to capture her, so a stronger grasp of the force skills would be useful to her. And though she didn't want to admit it, just in case that flash of darkness in Luke reappeared, she wanted to ready to defend herself from Luke, if it came to that.

One of Leia's strengths was a strong ability to make decisions, and then carry them out. And so, as soon as she had processed this information, she immediately stood up, and went to find Mon Mothma, in order to discuss the matter.

* * *

The meeting had not taken long. Leia had easily obtained a formal leave of absence from service, as well as permission to borrow some supplies, and an old Solar Sailor transport ship that had been donated to the Rebels many years before, which was unarmed, but fast, and exceedingly reliable. Now, though she felt it might be considered cruel, she walked quietly through the Rebel command ship, towards the hangar, hoping to just quietly slip away.

'Leia,' came Han's voice from behind her, speaking more softly than was usual. She turned and met his gaze. The treatment he had received in the Maw had left long-term consequences, and he still looked slightly pale and unsteady, and one arm was held in a sling. She had no idea what she could say to him.

Han watched her, observing her properly for the first time in a long while; in the Maw, he had only seen her briefly, and then it had been dark, and his vision had been imperfect. She was dressed in what he would describe as odd clothes; an old rough brown robe, with the hood down and hanging behind her, over a simple light-coloured tunic. Her hair was tied back in a simple pony tail. The skin on her hands was harder, with marks and scratches. She wore practical dark boots, well-fitted trousers, and, of course, a simple belt with a lightsabre handle hanging from it, looking not wholly unlike a picture in a storybook he had seen many years ago, showing a Jedi having some fantastic adventure.

But he could see that her eyes were the same; that same fiery passion and determination. The same fierce, almost confrontational look, tempered - to those who knew her well enough to see it - by the faintest hint of anxiety. Han smiled to himself; if anything, the new more practical look suited her better than the princess robes and ceremonial hairdo ever had.

'Let me come with you,' he continued, 'I want to help.'

'You can't,' she replied sadly, 'This is just something that I have to take care of. This is something that only I can do.'

'No, that's not true. You've done far too much of this alone. You don't have to handle this burden by yourself.'

'You'd come with me.'

'Yes. Of course I would,' Han replied, unnecessarily; Leia had meant it as a statement, not a question. She knew that Han would leave the rebel fleet for her, and follow her. But she knew that Han was more use as a pilot to the Rebels, than as a source of personal comfort to her. And she knew that no matter what she said, or how long she argued or pleaded or begged, he would never choose to leave her side.

But she had to go. She would cause him nothing but pain from now on, in every moment they were together. Leia wasn't intentionally prying into his mind, but this was the first time she had been able to spend a calm moment with Han since her training began, and she could not miss the fact that his feelings for her were strong, and far stronger than her feelings were for him, as fond as she was.

And when the time came to confront Luke - in whatever sense she had to do so - she would have to do it alone; what she had learnt from Boba about the events of the Maw made it clear that Han's presence would most likely make Luke more volatile. And so, though it almost broke her heart to do it, she had no choice.

Leia brought her hands up to Han's face, running her fingers over his stubble, and round to the back of his neck.

'Leia...'

'Shh,' she replied, tilting her head at a slight angle, meeting his gaze, opening her mouth ever so slightly, sending off clear signals that required no force intuition to interpret that she was inviting him to kiss her.

He closed his eyes, and leaned down to her, ignoring the fact that he knew this made no sense. Because he loved her so-

…………

…**…**…. _Leia…_

…**…**…. _You like me because I'm a scou_-

_L… L… L_…

…

By the time Han opened his eyes, the corridor was empty. He could have sworn that there had been somebody there a moment ago.

_Whatever it was, it can't have been that important_

* * *

Leia fled through the Rebel ship, trying to control her breathing, trying to hold back the tears, and trying to keep her emotions in check, just as Obi-Wan had always taught her.

Leia may not have been the most natural or talented pilot or fighter, but she was a trained diplomat; using the force to distract and influence people appealed to her nature, and she had an aptitude for it, right from the first moment she had used a mind trick on Boba in the Falcon; it was the one force skill she absolutely excelled in.

Just for a second, she had needed Han to drop all his mental shields, to make it easier for her to make the tiny tweak she needed to perform. So that he would never miss her. So that he wouldn't waste his life waiting for her. So that he would never follow her to his death. So that whenever he thought of Leia, he just viewed her with a wry smile, as a bossy, self-important, high-and-mighty member of a defunct royal house. Just like he had before he had fallen in love with her.

Maybe, she considered, this was why the Jedi had been so determined to avoid attachment; so that they never had to do what she had just done.

* * *

Obi-Wan watched all of this in silence. He would show himself as soon as she left from the fleet, so she didn't have to be alone during the journey to wherever it was she chose to be in the end.

If he was being honest, the reason he was staying invisible was that he was afraid. When he appeared, she would tell him that she was pregnant, as he now already knew. And somehow she would bring herself to carry on, driven on by hope that things would turn out well yet.

Even though she was carrying a child whose father was missing, and who had scared her, and who had taken a Sith Lord title. Even though she must have realised by now that it was possible that she might even have to duel the father of her child, and the man she loved. Even though the entire fate of the Galaxy might rest on her shoulders.

And despite all that, she would carry on, because, as Obi-Wan now realised, he had perhaps never met anybody in the entire Galaxy more determined than Leia.

And he knew that when he did appear, he wouldn't be able to tell her the truth. He couldn't tell her that than man she loved, and whose child she was carrying, was her brother. He couldn't add to her burden. He couldn't make it even more painful for her.

He had to tell her. Just not now.

* * *

From a shadowy doorway, one other figure had watched Leia's actions. Lando was sharp enough to guess what had happened, even if he didn't understand how, and he respected her choice to leave, and admired her decision to ensure that Han stayed fighting with the rebels. But he did want her to have some support, just in case. He reached for his communicator, 'Bounty hunter, I think we should discuss extending your employment.'

A sudden collective gasp and the sound of concerned chatter nearby stirred him; the Rebels were normally fairly unflappable; a life in which your friends could well die during any operation made sure of that. Lando moved to investigate the source of the disturbance.

The projected image in the meeting room of the Home One made it clear.

Though clearly far from complete, the image was all too familiar to every person in the room.

The new Death Star.

'The intelligence gathered by the Bothan spies has now been confirmed by a single cloaked observer-class drone, and from the images it recorded, we have put together this mock-up of the current Death Star,' Mon Mothma continued, silencing the rest of the room, 'All data suggests that the station itself is almost undefended, aside from the guns on the surface, and the local escort fleet. The location is near the small forest moon of Endor; the Empire is hiding the Death Star in the Outer Rim, due to its current vulnerability. Data we gathered suggests that the Empire intends to project a protective field from the moon itself, but that facility is still under construction. With the Empire still damaged from our recent victory at the Maw, and the force field not yet operational, this is our window of opportunity. As soon as we can gather and arm every ship and man, we will attack the Death Star.'


End file.
